Hidden in Plain Sight
by Oniko
Summary: KagomeSesshoumaru. After the defeat of Naraku, the Shikon is still incomplete and Kagome must finish the quest alone. Her powers have been sealed away in order to protect herself and the Shikon no Tama from demons who would seek the jewel.
1. Chapter 1

Hidden in Plain Sight

By Oniko

Disclaimer: Original story by Rumiko Takahashi

The shikon shard glinted innocently in the sunlight from its setting in the gold and silver necklace. The vendor was watching over his wares like a hawk, well he was a hawk but he didn't have to be so attentive.

"Ano…" Kagome was very carefully not looking at the shard as she pointed to the necklaces tacked to the wall behind the hawk demon. "Could I see that one please, the tiger-eye?"

She'd seen Miroku do this a hundred times at least, how hard could petty theft be, really? Okay, so maybe she hadn't seen him steal anything per se but she'd seen the aftermath, that must have counted for something then right? As the demon turned completely away from her, her hand darted out to snatch the necklace with the shikon shard and tuck it away under a fold of her kimono. That was the plan anyways. Unfortunately somewhere between here and there her budding career as a thief came to an abrupt halt as someone behind her grabbed her wrist in a vise-like grip, bare inches from the shard. _'Oh, crap.'_

"You do know the penalty for theft is getting your ear cut off, first offense." The voice was soft and cool as silk, she could feel his warm breath on her ear, sending shivers down her body but she was too petrified to move. Then he wrenched her arm back and up causing her to turn stumbling toward him, whether she wanted to go or not. As she looked up into the face of her captor she let out an involuntary scream that she managed to strangle down to a rather pitiful little whimper.

"Sesshoumaru…" The Lord of the Western Lands, Inu Yasha's elder brother, one of the absolute last people she wanted to ever see again, stood looking coolly down at her. _'Oh, gods. Oh, gods. He's going to recognize me. They're going to find me. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead.'_ Her brain babbled incoherently as the rising panic threatened to choke her.

He frowned at her. Perhaps "frown" was too expressive a word. His facial muscles tightened slightly, she probably wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't inches from them. He brought her captured wrist to his nose. He held her in his borrowed left hand, she didn't know where he got it from but it was cold as ice, with pale blue stripes crisscrossing his forearm, and the grip was like iron. He sniffed at her wrist, his gold eyes boring into hers. The air alternately cool and warm on her wrist was pleasant, but the nature of its pleasantness was making her uncomfortable. She tried to twist out of his grip but he would not be moved. After a few agonizingly long seconds he huffed gently and pulled his nose away from her wrist, but still refused to relinquish his grip. "I believe you have the advantage."

"I… um… what?" The sense of relief almost sent her to her knees. He didn't recognize her. And if he couldn't recognize her changed scent, chances are her enemies couldn't either.

"What is your name, pup?" He asked.

"I'm not a puppy." She said, stamping her foot lightly as a more familiar feeling of irritation began to overwhelm the panic and fear that was the only thing she'd known for the past several months of trying to survive by herself.

His eyes flickered slightly anyone else could possibly be accused of rolling them. "Very well, 'what is your name, bitch?'"

_Eurg…not any better._ She briefly debated complaining, but she didn't really want to know what else he could come up with. "Kagome." She told him, and felt like slapping herself a few seconds later_. 'Brilliant, brilliant, Kagome-girl why don't you just put up a billboard "disguised miko, hiding here."'_

"Hn…'Kagome.'" He spoke her name softly, tasting it on his tongue. She shivered at the sound of it. He turned his attention to the street vendor who was patiently holding out the tiger-eye and amber bead necklace. Sesshoumaru casually dismissed it and picked up the piece with the shikon shard. "Quite appalling taste you have."

Personally she agreed with him, the ornate piece was quite hideous. "Not my fault, I came that way from the farm." She quipped.

He looked down at her with that frown-that-wasn't-really-a-frown. She smiled up at him, light bulb bright and just at empty. He snorted softly and finally released her wrist. She shook it and rubbed it with her other hand. She didn't care if she looked like a weakling to their youkai audience, and they had attracted quite a crowd, she couldn't feel her fingers anymore. Fingers were decidedly more important than image, right? Right. The pins and needle pains in her fingers almost distracted her from noticing the feeling of the shikon shard moving away from her. She looked around meeting the eyes of curious demons, watching her with varied expressions, from amused to…hungry. But Sesshoumaru had disappeared. Before she could think about it, and perhaps doing something intelligent, like, oh say, leaving well enough alone. She charged through the crowd after the shard.

She didn't catch up with him until late in the evening. He always seemed to be just out of her reach. If she hadn't been able to sense the shard she was sure that she would have lost him completely within seconds, not that he couldn't have left her in the dust if he really wanted to. She was still only human. He was leaving the fair grounds after leading her on a chase around them two, maybe three times.

"Hey!" she called and ran a few paces to catch up. "Hey, Sesshou…" she gasped for breath, he didn't look at her. "Sesshoumaru, can I have the necklace?"

"Why?"

"I need it."

"No."

"Please?"

He stopped and turned to her. She stumbled but managed to stop without crashing into him. "Do you know what this is?" He snarled at her holding out the necklace with the shikon shard.

"Yes?" she answered uncertainly, reaching for it.

"This thing is madness and death." He yanked it back out of her reach.

"So…you don't want it?"

"No youkai worth the name wants it."

"Ri-ight." Her scars could attest otherwise. "Well, if you don't want it, can I have it?"

"No." He turned and started walking away from her. She practically had to run to keep up.

"You know keeping it is a hassle." She told him matter-of-factly. "I'm sure that continuously fending of attacks of those who do want it would without a doubt take up a considerable amount of your time. Time spent doing…what ever it is Tai-youkai do for fun."

"Then you would be wrong."

"Erm…about your time being valuable?"

He snorted softly. "Any attack made on this Sesshoumaru for the sake of the jewel will be negligible at best."

"Oh. Well, what do you want it for if you…ah…don't want it?" The look he gave her spoke clearly what he thought of her command of the language. "Seriously, why do you keep it?"

"It is not your concern." He said. His voice was ice cold, cracking on the air as he turned and continued on.

"Well, would you trade for it?"

"You have nothing that this Sesshoumaru desires."

She smirked "Certain of that are you?"

"Quite."

"So, you won't trade then?"

"No."

"Not even for the Tetsusaiga?" He stopped dead in his tracks.

"What do you know of my brother's fang?"

"I know where it is." The words had barely left her mouth when she found herself slammed into the trunk of a thick tree with considerable force. He held her by the throat in the cold, dead hand while his own dripped acid poison.

"Did you steal that too? Steal from a dead man? Did you?" He snarled. As he spoke his fingers tightened, constricting her air flow. She gasped and ineffectually scratched at his hand. Remembering that he couldn't feel anything in that arm she stretched out towards him but he was too far away. Her vision was fading when he loosened his grip and she could once again breathe. She gulped the air in huge gasping breaths; it was several moments before she recovered enough to speak.

"Like you should talk." She snarled back. "You're the- the dog who desecrated his father's grave for the sword so why should you care about your brother's?" It took several moments of staring at the Tenseiga before the realization and the pain of what he had done registered.

"Fuck. You stabbed me." She swore, her hands curling around the blade of heaven that was buried deep in her chest. It had sliced through her armor like silk and she could feel it inside her, the sharp metal tearing at her heart with each beat. "That hurts, you son of-" he snarled and twisted the blade wrenching a scream from her throat.

"Did you?"

"No." She gasped out. "I just, I just know where it is."

"Where?" he growled, soft and nearly inaudible but she could feel the menacing rumble in her bones.

"Give me the shard and I'll tell you."

Another sharp twist and her lungs burned as they filled with blood. "Grave, your brother's grave."

"My brother's tomb lays empty, little bitch. Be wary of what lies you speak to this Sesshoumaru."

"No, I know. His grave…at shrine. I can show you." She gasped. "It's there, I swear."

He braced one hand on her shoulder and pulled the Tenseiga free of her body. She screamed and swore, almost exhausting the vocabulary she inadvertently picked up from Inu Yasha. "You will take me to my brother's grave. When the fang is in my possession I will give you the shard."

"Um, right." She mumbled examining her unmarked flesh, even the fabric of the fire-rat fur had rewoven itself. "Um, what? No, not all right. Look, you don't seem to particularly like me, so how about I just tell you where it is and then you can give me the shard and go get it? Best for all parties involved I'm sure."

"No." He said. "You will take me. And if you are lying I will…hurt you."

She shuddered involuntarily. Death threats she could deal with. Death threats she was used to. There was a certain reassuring predictability to them, part of the bluster and brag involved in honest enmity. Sesshoumaru in that one instant managed to scare her more than he, or anyone else, ever had before. He stared directly into her eyes, gold eyes cold and emotionless. She looked away. "It's in… Edo. You know where that is?"

"No."

"You know that tree Inu Yasha was stuck to for a while?"

"Where he died the first time? Yes."

"There."

"I see." Then without warning he picked her up like a child, tucked into his side at his hip, and took off. She yelped and latched onto him for fear of falling. Her fingers dug into anything that she could get a grip on, armor, cloth or hair; she gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. Once her perch was secured she tentatively looked up. Sesshoumaru was as expressionless as usual; he didn't look at her, not even to say anything about her pulling on a fistful of long hair. He moved fast, faster than Inu Yasha, or at least it seemed like it, the way he glided, rather than running and jumping in fits and starts. They traveled that way until full dark when he stopped and released her, as without warning as when he picked her up. She, however, had not released her death grip on his armor so when her support gave way underneath her she slid down his body to the full extension of her arms, unresponsive legs folded underneath her. He finally looked down at her, like he found something unpleasant on the bottom of his shoe, and then he looked pointedly at her hands. She let go, and collapsed the rest of the way to the ground.

"We will be there tomorrow." He said. "We shall rest here, there is a hot spring." He pointed off in a direction. She nodded and got up to stagger in that direction, her legs didn't quite want to work. It had been a very long day. At the hot spring she carefully unwound the strips of the fire-rat cloth she had wrapped around her legs and forearms revealing the markings on her skin. Sutras written in red glowed with a strange dark light that danced under her skin. She removed the rest of her kimono, the tattered remains of Inu Yasha's fire-rat haori, and slid into the hot spring with a sigh.

She had been in the water for some time, and was just about to wash her hair when she felt Sesshoumaru's presence behind her. She surfaced, careful to not rise to high from the water, worried less about her breasts than about him seeing the key-spell written over her heart. She turned just in time to see him settle into the water. Part of her brain, the part that even after all that had happened to her still worried about clothes and makeup and boys, just had a meltdown. Of course it wasn't everyday that she got an eyeful like that. She could feel a hot blush spreading across her cheeks. "Excuse me? I'm not done here. Can I have some privacy?"

The look he gave her was disdainful beyond words. He didn't explain himself, or excuse himself, or, most importantly, leave. So she settled for glaring at him and moving herself as far away from him as possible. Turning her back to him she prepared to ignore him as best she could and began lathering up the soap to wash her hair. The one thing she missed more than anything was having decent shampoo and conditioner. The stuff she found in the demon markets were better than anything found in the human communities but she missed the smell of her perfumes. This stuff didn't smell like anything, but at least it didn't have that acrid smell of lye or leave her hair and skin lank and heavy with residue like human-made soap or soap-root plants. Her hair was piled up on top of her head and she was massaging the soap into her scalp to get all the sweat and dirt when she felt the lightest of touches on her back, sliding along her spine from the nape of her neck down between her shoulder blades. She shrieked and spun around to face Sesshoumaru. The expression on his face was, for once, open and easy to read. His eyes were wide in shock, gaze focused on the spells etched into her skin. His hand reached out and lightly touched the line of writing over her heart, trailing it over the upper curve of her breast. Mentally she cursed at herself for being stupid and standing fully to wash her hair.

"These are…binding spells?" he said softly, half to himself. He grabbed her hand and examined the lines written on her forearm. "I've never seen them like this. What ink is so red?"

"It's not ink. It's blood." She told him.

"Why?"

"Power to bind power. There is power in blood." A youkai's blood to bind a miko's power within her body. The sutras written in Inu Yasha's blood hid her power away from detection and the scent of inu youkai blood covered her natural scent. He looked at her then, really looked at her. Inu Yasha told her once that as a dog sight wasn't really one of his primary senses, even though as a demon his eyesight was probably better than hers. He relied first on scent and then the sense of energies before he bothered to actually look at something. He was looking at her now, carefully examining, not just the spells, but her clawless fingers, rounded ears and human visage. Now, she was feeling self-conscious. She curled her free arm around her chest to shield herself, in some small way from his piercing gaze. His fingers were slowly tightening around her wrist and his eyes were growing colder, changing from shock to anger.

"They bound away the blood." He whispered, lips curling in a viscous snarl. "Chained like some pet to heel." He reached up and combed her soap matted hair off of her forehead, his arm curling protectively around her shoulder. "We are not to be so bound. They are dead." He looked at her, without seeing her, wrapped up in whatever thoughts were floating through his brain.

"They are." She whispered, voice barely squeaking out past her tight throat, frightened by his sudden change in moods. To think she once thought his brother confusing, Inu Yasha was simple to read and predict when compared to this.

He focused on her again. "You killed them? Even as this?"

_'I got them killed,'_ "Yes." She said, choking out only the last part of the truth.

He smiled at her, bright and angelic, her knees almost gave way at the beauty of it. "Good girl." His hand slid down to her shoulder and he patted her gently as if he was proud of her. She felt sick to her stomach, and close to tears. _Miroku, Inu Yasha, I'm so sorry._

He released her and backed up a few paces. He rinsed his hands of soap and told her "Finish up, if we move early we can reach… Edo, was it? By midday."

... ... ...

He set her down much more gently than he had the previous evening. She instantly recognized the area as the forest to the west of Edo. She was familiar with every grove and clearing, rock and spring in the area. No matter how many primeval forests she found herself in she would always recognize her way home. She stretched her stiff legs and set out towards the shrine without a glance back.

"Where are you going?"

"The Shrine, this way." She said and pointed. He frowned but followed. Soon the forest gave way to fields populated by a handful of farmers who didn't even look up at them from their drudgery. The fields gave way to buildings and even more people. The area had built up a lot since the last time she came through, they almost had streets. While she didn't recognize anyone, the people here were still obviously familiar with her. Many bowed to her respectfully as they passed.

"Why do they do that?" He asked her. He was watching the humans warily, like he had never seen such behavior. Although considering his reputation he probably hadn't, and the only thing keeping the people here from mass panic was the fact that he came with her.

"Who do what?"

"The humans, doing that." He growled and pointed at an elderly human woman kneeling in the street before him.

"I…remind them of…someone else so they seek to honor that person by honoring me." She said and skirted around the woman to the bottom of the long steps to the Shrine.

"Here we are." She announced and started up the steps. When she looked back he was standing at the bottom still, staring up at her. "You coming?"

Cautiously he stepped forward, stepping under the torii, he froze as the shrine's holy energy flared around him, testing his youki. When he made no move the power gradually settled back down, though it was not as accepting of him as it had been of Kagome. Slowly, he walked to where she waited and together they continued up the stairs. The way was steep and high and they passed through several torii, at each one they were carefully examined by a new layer of the shrine's protective barriers and at each one they were accepted.

When the last barrier closed behind them they were standing in a paved courtyard with several buildings. It was almost like the shrine she had grown up with in Tokyo, but not yet quite it. The most eye catching difference was a pair of dog statues flanking the main building. They were beautifully wrought with clean elegant lines, clearly based on the natural forms of the inu youkai. She could only wonder when they were removed.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and held one hand out at if to protect her as Tsuuki, the resident miko and Kaede's last apprentice, bow and arrows in hand and excitedly barking dog at her heels came tearing around the back of the shrine. The miko, halted and took aim, the dog continued, barreling towards them at full speed. "Youkai! You will not-" she stopped and the arrow fell from nerveless fingers, followed by the bow, her gathered energies dissipated with a light pop like a soap bubble. She shrieked "Kagome-chan!" and ran towards them with her arms outstretched. The dog meanwhile had skidded to a stop and was fawning at Kagome with its tail wagging furiously. She smiled and bent down to pet the dog, waving Sesshoumaru back. She looked up barely in time to brace herself for the miko who crashed into her with enough force to stagger her back several steps.

"I am so glad you are okay, we were getting so worried! It has been insane here. Why are you here? Do you need the Bone Eater's Well unsealed?" Tsuuki caught her up in a fierce hug and was babbling at her, words tumbling out of her mouth in a mixed jumble. Kagome shot a quick glance at Sesshoumaru, but he looked as inscrutable as ever. With luck he may even have been baffled, she sure was.

"Sealed? Wha- why was the-. No, look we'll talk later, right now. Um, I came-" Kagome stuttered and stammered a moment before pausing and taking a deep breath. "This is Inu Yasha's brother Sesshoumaru-sama. Could you, ah, clear the main shrine so that we may have a private moment?"

Tsuuki looked up at Sesshoumaru, her eyes widened as though she hadn't seen him earlier. She stepped back, tugging at the wrinkles in the folds of her hakama, trying to return some sense of decorum to her station. She bowed deeply. "My lord, I am grieved at your loss. You are welcome at this shrine, I am Higurashi no Tsuuki. If you will wait a moment, please, you may have the shrine to yourselves."

Kagome could feel him watching her, staring at her, as Tsuuki left them. She tried to ignore him, counted the paving stones, examined the tree line. But she just couldn't take it any more. "What?" she asked.

"We are…welcome here." He spoke slowly, as if uncertain of his words.

"Yes."

"It is unusual for a demon to be welcome in a shrine."

She shrugged, "I grew up at the Sunset Shrine. Why shouldn't I be welcome at my home? And you, well, you are Inu Yasha's brother."

He was about to respond when the miko and a few other humans exited the main building. The humans stood to one side and bowed deeply as they passed into the building. Inside the shrine was sparsely decorated, Sesshoumaru stepped forward to the altar, on it the Tetsusaiga lay sheathed and bound with the prayer beads that once kept the hanyou from killing her.

"Why here?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice had grown unexpectedly rough. "There was a place for him in the Western Lands."

"This was his home." She said softly. Her eyes stung with unshed tears, as it always did, when ever she came back here.

"Do you know how he died?" She was silent a moment trying to figure out what to tell him, without giving too much away.

"Do you know of the Shikon no Miko? The one who sealed him to the tree?"

"His mate?"

"Yes, they were…mates a long time ago. But then Naraku tricked her into killing Inu Yasha, and she sealed him to a tree."

"But he was released?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath. "He heard that she was being held captive and was hurt. He felt responsible for her so he had to go save her, alone."

"It was a trap."

"Yes."

"Her captors?"

"There were none. No one knows what happened," but Kikyou died, her piece of their soul had flown to Kagome the very instant and Inu Yasha… "Inu Yasha came back broken. It was only a matter of time before he died, she hurt him irreparably."

"Why?"

"She was still hurting from Naraku's trick. She was mad at Inu Yasha because she didn't love him enough, or trust him enough."

"That makes no sense."

"No, it doesn't make any sense."

"Naraku." Sesshoumaru spoke softly to himself. "A name I have not heard in some time. I would have thought his machinations died with him."

"He wrought better than he knew." She said bitterly.

"You speak like you know. I don't remember seeing you there." He said turning to her.

"I know." She said, she could remember that day clearly. Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru working in tandem, moving like one being wielding twin blades. As the Tenseiga released the bonds crafted by Onigumo's death the Tetsusaiga destroyed the freed Youkai. And she had walked between the two brothers, between life and death, to retrieve the Shikon no Tama. Only it wasn't the whole jewel. It was amazing how that one chunk of jewel had changed through all their trials it had slowly grown in their minds until they were convinced that Naraku horded almost the entire thing. He had barely collected a third of it. "Many who were hurt by Naraku and wished him dead were not there."

He nodded and turned back to the alter, "Leave me."

She bowed politely, "Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama. I will be speaking with the miko. Please, come find me when you are finished."

Tsuuki was waiting impatiently outside of the shrine. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine, fine." She said.

"He's not going to suddenly destroy the place is he?"

"No, um, he may take a souvenir, for the family tomb." She said, the only thing she could come up with to easily explain the soon to be missing Tetsusaiga. "Now, um what's this about having to seal the well?"

"Oh, right!" Tsuuki stood up straight and grabbed Kagome's arm before dragging her off. "There's been things coming out of the well, not just going in. We decided that it would be best if we sealed it up." Her eyebrows furrowed. "That is okay right? I mean, it's your well."

"No, that's fine. We had it sealed up too." Kagome reassured her.

"Oh, and you have to be careful. Youkai have come here looking for you."

"Looking for me or for…"

"Well, for…" Tsuuki waved at the main shrine, her wildly swinging arm nearly clothes-lining Sesshoumaru who had approached without either of them noticing. He gave Kagome a significant look before turning towards the shrine entrance. "Just be careful, Kagome. They would've hurt, maybe killed you, if you had been here."

"I'll be fine, you just keep on with what you're doing. As long as everyone thinks I'm here they won't be looking for me elsewhere, right?" The two girls embraced briefly before Kagome ran after Sesshoumaru. She caught up with him on the stairs.

"Kagome, you neglected to inform me that you were in danger." He spoke without looking at her but she could tell that all of his attention was focused keenly on her.

"I hardly think that my little problems are worth your time, Sesshoumaru-sama." She said, rolling her eyes at his title. "Now I believe you owe me a shard."

"You believe wrong, on both counts." He said derisively.

"Well, excuse this unworthy one for speaking," She snarled, coming to a halt at the bottom of the steps. "But we had a deal. I showed you the sword, now you give me the shard."

"The deal, this Sesshoumaru believes, was that when the Tetsusaiga has come to rest in this one's hands then you would receive the shard."

"Well, why the hell doesn't it?" She yelled. "I told you where it was, I led you right to it. The only reason you aren't holding it right now, is through no fault of my own! You owe me a shard."

"This Sesshoumaru owes you nothing, neither explanations nor items of dubious value." He turned and walked away.

"This sucks!" She kicked at a rock with some force. It was somewhat satisfying so she did it again. Then she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sesshoumaru had paused, was half-turned towards her, watching her. When she looked at him full on, he smirked and turned away. She glowered at his back a moment before running to catch up with him. "You really are a bastard. You know that, right.

... ... ...

AN: Please review, constructive criticism is especially welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Two

Kagome leaned carefully towards Sesshoumaru's sleeping form. The nights had started to turn cold and she had taken to sleeping as close as she could to him for warmth. Incidentally it gave her the perfect opportunity to try and steal the shikon shard he kept tucked safely away in his kimono. Over the past couple of weeks she had made countless attempts to steal the shard, all of which had been foiled by the youkai. Much to her annoyance he seemed to think of it as some kind of game. On the other hand, she'd learned a lot about sneaking up on someone, though it tended to be less 'sneaking up on' and more misdirection.

Her hand slowly slid under the first layer of his kimono. The warmed silk hissed softly under her calloused fingers and she froze, eyes going immediately to Sesshoumaru's face, but he remained asleep. Carefully and silently she reached her fingers across him to where she could see the light of the shard, and then she could feel it through another layer of cloth under her fingertips. Stamping down the urge to scream in frustration, she pulled back as cautiously as she had inched forward and worked her fingers carefully through the folds. Again, she leaned forward, the pads of her fingers running over soft silk, silk giving way to skin, hot to the touch and soft as velvet over the hard steel of abdominal muscles. Her breath hissed out between her teeth in surprise and his fingers clamped down on her wrist.

She collapsed against him with a soft sigh as tense muscles in her back and calves relaxed. Of all the places, she grimaced slightly at the twinge in her legs. She didn't even bother trying to free herself, Sesshoumaru would let go of her whenever he was good and ready and not a moment before. He did untangle her from his clothing, though, and continued to hold her hand, clasped between his, one warm and one cold.

"Who was your father?" He would do this sometimes, pretend that she had not just attempted to rob him, or molest him, and ask her questions. This was starting to get a little personal though, previously he had asked about his brother, about the shrine, and other seemingly random topics.

"Don't know, Mama said he died when I was young." She had long ago decided to keep as closely to the truth as she could. Otherwise she'd mess up and somehow she doubted the people in this era were as trusting as her classmates. "I don't remember him at all."

"Who was your mother?"

"Why?" She looked up at him curiously; he was examining her hand, lightly tracing her fingers with his claws and sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm just trying to figure out where you fit into the clan." He said.

"Clan?" She repeated a little shocked, somehow she'd never thought of Inu Yasha as having any relatives other than his deceased father and Sesshoumaru.

"If your father is dead, that rather limits the possibilities…"

"Oh." She said. "I doubt you would know my mother."

"Why?"

"She was a shrine maiden, that's how she met my dad." She cringed slightly, expecting a strong reaction from him, knowing his opinion on the matter of hanyous as she did.

"I see." He was silent for a long time, a thoughtful crease marring his forehead. Abruptly, he released her hand and turned away. "Good night."

"I think it's morning by now." She pointed out. He cracked an eye open slightly to look at her.

"Good morning then, in either case I am getting more rest and suggest that you do the same."

"Fine, fine. Good night." She settled back and waited for him to fall asleep so that she could make another attempt at the shard. This was the closest she had gotten, ever. His breathing gradually evened out as he relaxed. She shifted her head slightly looking for the tell-tale flash of gold under his dark lashes. She let out a surprised yelp as he turned without warning and caught her up in his arms. He rolled her over and pulled her close, so she lay spooning up against him with his arms wrapped around her, pinning her hands. He growled softly into her ear. "This Sesshoumaru believes that he gave you an order."

"Actually, you said it was a suggestion."

"Now it is an order. Sleep." He said. "Tomorrow we shall begin to press for home."

"What? Home? Why?" She asked.

"We are going home, to the clan den in the Western Lands. Because it is time to do so. Now stop asking questions and sleep."

"But-" He growled at her and she wisely decided to shut up.

... ... ...

When he had said "den" she thought of some hole in the ground. What he brought her to was anything but. It was a vast city teeming with humans and a variety of youkai. Most places the races were separated into their own communities. Even different types of youkai tended to avoid mingling with other youkai if they could help it, coming together only for war or trade. When she asked Sesshoumaru about it he gave her one of his looks, the ones that made her grit her teeth as she was sure he was wondering how stupid she was. But he explained, patiently, that the youkai and humans in the city were all vassals or servants of the inu youkai. This was the dog's den and nothing else mattered.

The den itself was an enclosed palace-like complex in the center of the city. They were met at the door by a guard in his true form, he was larger than Sesshoumaru had been and a light golden color. The guard sniffed at them before moving aside and crouching down, exposing his neck to Sesshoumaru. He gave the guard a brief nod and guided her through the gate into the halls beyond.

"Sesshoumaru!" They were passing through a garden when a powerful youkai noticed them from a covered walkway. Sesshoumaru pulled up short and gave a soft rumbling growl. "Kagome, stay here."

He stepped forward to meet the other inu halfway across a meandering gravel path. The other inu was a tall, broad-shouldered…man that dwarfed Sesshoumaru's slender form. He was dressed in a full length snow white kimono, marred only by a splash of purple on his shoulder, with iron grey hair that fell freely to mid-thigh. The conversation must have been heated. For although Sesshoumaru remained as still and impassive as ever the other youkai radiated irritation. She could almost hear him speak, a low rumble that rattled her bones, but his voice was too indistinct to make out individual words. She watched them anxiously, wondering what they were discussing. Sesshoumaru gestured negligently over his shoulder at her and the other inu turned his attention to her. She briefly considered turning tail and running when both of them started walking towards her. She'd gotten surprisingly good at running away from, as opposed to towards, trouble lately. But she decided that it ultimately wasn't worth the embarrassment, if either of them decided to chase her down. As they came closer she could catch bits and pieces of the other inu's low words.

"…formal trials…graced us with your presence…clan looks weak enough as it is…confined to the den…" They were almost upon her now. Sesshoumaru's usually stoic expression looked even more closed off, almost sullen. "…tedious as you find all this to be, your disregard is insulting to your clan and your ancestors. Your father would be disgraced by your behavior of late. As for you…" He turned to her, sneering at her tattered old haori. "Appropriate clothing and accommodations will have to be found. I don't suggest leaving the den proper until your formal presentation. Sesshoumaru, that will be your first concern, then I want to see you in my office." He turned and stalked away without waiting for a reply.

"Yes, Uragiri-sama." Sesshoumaru said, voice cold as winter. The other youkai's steps faltered briefly but he did not otherwise acknowledge Sesshoumaru's words.

"Who was that?" She asked, shocked to the core that anyone would dare to lecture Sesshoumaru.

"The regent." He answered shortly. Her brain refused to work properly and make any sense of the word. The regent of what? The confusion must have showed on her face because he sighed deeply. "The clan appointed him until after my First Trial and I have taken my rightful place as the Inu no Taishou."

She thought about it, gazing at his impassive face. Slowly she shook her head. "You speak. I see your mouth move, I hear words. Yet, there is no comprehension."

"Very well." He sighed softly, doing that strange eye flicker-roll. "Follow me to the female residence and I shall explain on the way." He bowed slightly, to speak softly in her ear as he guided her through the halls. "Traditionally, rank among the clan is determined by rituals of challenge and submission. Trials are held every Season for anyone who wishes attempt to rise above his current station. A young male's First Trial is usually held upon reaching sexual maturity."

"Wait, how old are you?" she asked before her brain caught up with her. His lips twisted in a bitter smile.

"The Regent and my father's allies on the council have seen fit to delay my First Trial for as long as they reasonably can."

Sesshoumaru paused to open a door on one side of the latest hall in the maze of paper screens he was leading her through. She stepped down a short five step stair into a six tatami room. It was sparsely furnished but what little was there was understated and elegant. A short black lacquered writing table with elegant gold and mother-of-pearl inlay was turned to face a closed shoji screen door, richly embroidered pillows scattered strategically around it. Sesshoumaru strode across the room to a large chest and began rummaging around in the deep drawers. She stood in the middle of the room twisting a lock of hair through her fingers.

"Why?" she asked. He turned and gave her a questioning look. "Why did they delay your trials?"

"Politics." He snarled, turning back to his task. "In the old days the Inu no Taishou was simply the most dominant male in the clan, and the Lands were the territory we held. Gradually the Inu no Taishou became a true Lord of the Western Lands and the succession became a harrowing time for the Lands as the new Lord learned how to properly govern the various peoples who have come under the clan's protection. Chichiue wished to change that by training a successor."

"You," she interjected.

"Yes, me." He held up an azure blue furisode with fiery maple leaves dancing across the fabric. "Ideally, I would have had centuries to find my place among the clan before my father stepped down. But he died, disgracefully at the hands of an outsider who could never take his place. The clan was in chaos. Many wanted Chichiue's second, the Regent, to take his place as tradition would demand. But many more were concerned that the recent wars coupled with a troublesome succession would cripple the Western Lands and leave us vulnerable to our enemies. And there would be trouble, the Regent has many personal enemies that the clan can ill afford to openly declare, also Uragiri doesn't know the Lands like I do. No one does."

He fell silent, his gold eyes stared unseeing into the middle distance. His right hand trailed lightly over one long sleeve of the kimono. When he did not resume his lecture, she fidgeted uncomfortably. "Sesshoumaru?"

He started slightly and looked up at her, his gold eyes raw and haunted but he blinked and it was gone. She wondered if she had seen anything at all. "What happened next?"

"The clan compromised, so no one was happy. The Regent would act as the Inu no Taishou, though I would be the true Lord of the Western Lands, and he would submit at my First Trial. Of course nothing is ever so simple. The malcontents among the clan view my First Trial as an unprecedented opportunity to seize control with the death of one untried young male." He growled out the last three words, an ugly vicious sound that could never come from anything remotely human.

"And that's why they wanted the delay?"

"Yes." He held out the blue furisode. "If you wish there are weavers in town that can mend your kimono, but for now this will suit you well."

"Thank you, I would like that." She took the furisode from him, the cool silk felt like heaven against her warm palm. A few more moments of digging and he was able to produce a red-gold obi and other necessary accessories.

"This will be your room now. There is a futon in the cabinet by the door." He indicated a small sliding panel inset into the wall beside the door, the space was apparently built under the floor of the hall. "The bathing house is between both residences, down the hall to the right. It's usually empty in the late evening for meals. If you will excuse me, I must take my leave." He inclined his head slightly and turned to the door.

"Wait!" He paused and looked back at her but did not turn around. "Um…" _Don't leave me alone!_ "When are meals served?"

He was silent a moment. "I will see to your meals. You require human foods do you not?"

"Yes." She said softly, suddenly feeling incredibly small and overwhelmed.

He nodded sharply. "If that is all?"

"Yes." She mumbled. "Sorry to keep you." But he was already gone.

It wasn't quite late evening yet, actually it was barely late afternoon but she didn't want to put the clean kimono on her sweaty, filthy self. So she crossed her fingers and followed Sesshoumaru's directions, she left the door to her room open a crack so she could find it later. The bathhouse was empty and blissful, though she jumped reflexively at every odd sound. Dressing herself in the furisode unaided proved to be challenging, especially tying the obi, but she finally managed to get the fabric tied well enough. It wasn't pretty but it stayed up and her long trailing sleeves were on the right side of it rather than tucked underneath. There was only one piece she was uncertain of, a large elliptical sheet of a fine cream silk so sheer that she could easily see through it. It had a wide boarder of open-work embroidery in russet and gold. She folded it back up as neatly as she could, bundled together her old haori and wrappings, and returned to her room.

Or she would have if she could find her room. She backed up and tried to re-orientate herself, bath house to her right. So, she had come from that direction and…someone must have shut the door. She turned back down the hall and checked the vicinity for youki, nothing the rooms were empty. She shrugged and opened the first door she got to; the room was crammed with a variety of chests and other assorted furniture with a stair step storage cabinet that reached to the second floor. She closed the door and continued down the hall opening and closing doors as she went. Empty room with open garden door. Red stained table with a tea set. Half-painted canvas on a low stand. Black lacquer writing table. The discarded kimonos and many of the pillows had been picked up, probably by who ever had shut the door. Going to the chest she found that the upper drawers had been cleared and the lower ones filled with blankets. She laid the cream silk in the top drawer and, uncertain with what to do with her old haori, dropped it in as well.

Left to her own devices she decided to explore a little. The desk's drawers were empty with not even a brush or scrap of paper to give a hint that anything had ever been in there. She idly wondered if it had been emptied like the chest. She continued on though the door the desk was placed in front of. It opened on to a large garden area with a rather strange layout. Privacy screens to her left and right segmented off small flowery alcoves. Hers had an ornamental tree that shaded a small koi pond it shared with the room to her right; the decorative wooden screening spanned the rippling water. Beyond her little alcove was a vast open area filled with sand and large weathered stones. The sand was penned in by a foot high wall and had been carefully tended and raked like a Zen garden. Beyond that was a massive closed gate that took up the better part of the entire wall rising two full stories.

She stood in her little garden alcove and contemplated the puzzle before her. She didn't want to begrudge anyone their beliefs but it seemed more than passing strange that a clan of youkai would practice Buddhism to such an extent that they would build such an expansive garden. A soft scuff behind her startled her and she spun around to find Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway. He had also taken the opportunity to wash and change. Gone was the heavy bone armor and the blade, instead he wore only the familiar white hakama and haori with the red floral pattern on shoulder and sleeves. He was gazing at her with lips quirked slightly downward in that strange little not-frown. "What? What's wrong?"

He looked away. "Your obi is very…creatively tied."

"I had some trouble with it." She blushed. "I'm not used to wearing something so formal."

"If you would like I could adjust it for you." He offered, voice sounding cold and distant. She had to go over it in her head a few times to make sure that he actually said what she though he said.

"I…um…" She could feel the blush spreading across her face. _Oh, suck it up Kagome, or do you want to look like an idiot child? _"I would appreciate that, thank you."

She turned around and could feel him tugging lightly on the cloth. She tried twisting around to see what he was doing but he would firmly grasp her shoulders and turn her to face forward. When he finished his hands smoothed out the cloth across her shoulders and he gently turned her to face him. He had a strange expression on his face, almost blank but with a shadow of an emotion hidden in his mirror bright eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when he gracefully stepped aside and gestured her to go within. "This Sesshoumaru has brought fare that he hopes is found to be acceptable."

She paused at the formal tone in his voice, but not for long as a sudden clench in her stomach made her reconsider her priorities. She mumbled a quick "thanks" and entered the room. The table was moved to the center of the room and two pillows were placed on either side of it in such a way that both of them could see the doors. There was a variety of dishes spread across the table, far more than she could possibly eat for a single meal. "Wow, you didn't have to get so much."

She knelt down on one pillow as gracefully as she could but felt she couldn't do her dress or her setting justice. Picking up the delicately carved chopsticks she sampled from random dishes. It was heavenly. The only way it could be more perfect was if he could have brought some oden as well. Well, maybe not, she just knew she'd really have made a fool of herself if he had. "Sesshoumaru, thank you, it's wonderful…" she trailed off as she turned to look at him. He stood just inside the doorway watching her, his face blank. "Is something wrong? Won't you join me?"

Silently he shook his head and glided across the floor to settle across from her. She watched him warily as she ate. He didn't look directly at her although it was obvious that he was playing close attention to her every movement, it was rather unsettling. There was no place setting for him. Did he already eat then? she wondered. When they were on the road he would never accept any of her offers of food and occasionally he would disappear for a varied length of time. When she had asked he told her that he had gone "hunting." At first she had been slightly disgruntled that he never offered to bring back fresh meat for her dinner, but then it dawned on her that he never said what he was hunting. She had decided then to do her best to not think about it.

"How was your meeting with the Regent?" she asked, to have some sound to drown out the uneasy tension between them.

"Long, tedious, and pointless." He replied curtly.

"Is it often like that?"

"No."

"What are they like, then?"

"Sometimes, worse."

She sighed in frustration. "What do you talk about?"

"Nothing of importance."

She snapped the chopsticks down on the table with a sharp crack. He looked up, startled at her sudden temper. "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but would it kill you make small talk for a few seconds?"

He stared at her for a long moment that stretched into an eternity before he lowered his eyes and turned his head away. "Why are you not wearing the veil?"

She blinked at him. Did she just win an argument? What the hell happened to the arrogant bastard she walked in here with? The one who nearly melted her for daring to lay a hand on the Tetsusaiga? Who wouldn't give her the shard he owed her fair and square? Wait… "Veil? Is that what that was?"

"Yes, that is what it is." He said through clenched teeth. "It is customary for females to wear a veil in Season."

"Setting aside the fact that I'm eating right now, why?" she asked, picking up the chopsticks to resume her meal.

"To bare the face during this time indicates that one is receptive to…attention. From anyone." Pieces of information started to click together in her head and it dawned on her that he wasn't referring to a spring or summer type of season.

"N-no, I'm not like that." She stuttered, blushing furiously. "I don't want anything like that at all. W-well, that's not say that I wouldn't ever but not with anyone here. Though I'm sure everyone here is perfectly nice, I just don't know anyone. Except possibly you and I don't know you all that well. Not that I would be at all adverse to-" She finally got her mouth under control by the expediency of clamping her free hand over it. She cautiously relaxed, _am I babbling now? Good._ She spoke softly through her fingers hovering inches from her mouth, just in case. "I just had no idea."

He nodded and relaxed, the tension in the air dissipating. He even went so far as to quirk the corner of his mouth into a smirk. The bastard was laughing at her. She dropped her hand and scowled at him. If anything else his smile got a little wider, so she decided to change tactics and with a derisive sniff finished eating in silence.

"Some additional clothing for you was found and a servant has been sent into town with your old kimono," he said. When she finished eating they stood and Sesshoumaru opened the drawer to remove the veil. She could see the plain white hadajuban and solid colored yukata were tucked into the deep drawer. The veil had been neatly refolded and placed on top. Sesshoumaru snapped it open and gracefully draped it over her, pulling the embroidered hem down to her bust line leaving the rest to trail behind her. "The veil must be worn at all times outside of this room and no males are to be permitted entry."

"You're here," she pointed out.

"The Inu no Taishou and I are the only males so allowed."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No." He said, and then added. "You may, should you wish to, attempt to deny entry."

"'Attempt to?' That sounds bad."

"It may be perceived as a challenge and treated accordingly."

"Right, so…don't do that," she nodded, the veil slipping off her head to one side and had to be readjusted. "So how do I keep this thing on?"

"This Sesshoumaru has faith that you will become accustomed to it quickly." He reached out and smoothed the folds of the veil, the pads of his fingers lightly grazing her cheek and shoulder. "Unfortunately, there are other matters that need to be attended to. I will see you tomorrow."

Her days settled into a pattern after that. Sesshoumaru would come in the mornings with her breakfast and to help her straighten her obi. She would spend the days wandering around the den. It was like a smaller city within a city, although calling anything here "smaller" was a bit of a misnomer as many of the halls and gardens were large enough to hold several full sized inu youkai. She considered that she should be irate that she was not allowed to go down to the city. But there was so much to explore in here and all her needs were met without question. It seemed unappreciative to make a fuss so soon after being showered with such hospitality. She would return to her room in the evenings and Sesshoumaru came in with her evening meal. He was always attentive though rarely talkative. Then, once he had left and servants cleared away the dishes, she would make her way to the empty bath house and retire for the night.

One day bled into another, the only occurrence of note was when her fire-rat kimono was returned to her. The edges of the faded dusky rose(1) fabric had somehow been re-woven with new blood red threads. The frayed edges on her wrappings had also been fixed and neatly hemmed so they were of a uniform width. She had taken to wearing it under her furisode, to keep this last piece of her past close. That was some time ago and she didn't actually realize how much time had passed until one warm evening she left her garden door open. It was a beautiful night, the sky a rich dark blue and more stars than could ever be seen in the Tokyo sky. The waning moon was a sharp line of pure bright light that caused a small niggling sense of worry that she could not, at first, place.

"Shit!" She sat bolt upright, eyes wide and curses falling unheeded from her lips. The waning moon, the new moon. Inu Yasha's blood was still tied to the cycles of the moon and for one night every month the concealing sutras were absolutely worthless. "Shit, shit, shit."

She was up on her feet restlessly pacing the room as she tried to figure out what she was going to do. This one night was both a blessing and a bane. With her concealments ripped away the Shikon no Tama, or what she had of it, and her own powers shone like a beacon in the night. But this one night only she could shoot hamaya and purify beyond the bounds of her skin like a true priestess. Otherwise with her powers bound away she only had the same abilities as any other human, with the sole exception of her second sight that managed to slip around the edges of the wards she suspected that it was not purely a miko's skill. Overall the drawbacks and benefits of this night balanced out but she doubted that the inu youkai would be at all pleased at suddenly finding a miko in their midst.

... ... ...

AN: Replies to reviews are posted on my lj. There's a link in my author's profile.

(1) I decided to go with the manga colored version for a number of reasons. One being that I find it hard to believe that Inu Yasha's fire-rat haori would show absolutely no signs of weathering after fifty years of being in the open, magical fabric or not. The other, and primary reason, is simple artistic license; I liked the contrast.


	3. Chapter 3

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Three

Sesshoumaru was not helpful. In fact, he was the very anti-thesis of helpful, going out of his way to make sure that she stayed put. Since he had alerted the guards to her sudden interest in leaving she couldn't take a step outside of her room without someone watching her. And heaven help her if she even thought of going near the front gates. Of course, the place had been built to withstand sieges so there were no other exits; there wasn't even a tree conveniently close to the outer wall. But that didn't keep her from looking. Tonight was the new moon and she was getting desperate.

She was circling around the rear of the complex, after finally having lost her nursemaid, looking for something to help get her up over the wall when she heard voices. This area was mostly for storage and few people spent much time here so naturally her curiosity was piqued, especially when she recognized one of the voices.

"…tired of kow-towing to some crippled little puppy." Uragiri, the Regent, was saying, his voice coming from one of the storage buildings. She crept closer to the shuttered window and strained to hear.

"Of course, my Lord Regent. To think that someone so exalted should be made to submit to someone so pathetic…The clan has grown weak, it needs a strong Inu no Taishou to lead it to greatness." A second voice replied. It was so smooth and oily that it made her skin crawl. "Now, to business, this powder is a very special poison. See that it is mixed in the incense for tonight's ceremony. So, so tragic; the young lord lost on the cusp of maturity." Her breath left her body in a sudden gasp as the realization that they were discussing Sesshoumaru hit. He had told her that his was the only First Trial this Season and tonight was a special ceremony and vigil before he formally Challenged Uragiri in the morning. "And make sure that only the mark is in the affected area. I cannot guarantee the safety of any of your people who may try to intervene."

"I am flattered by your concern. There may be a few other…guests tonight," Uragiri said. "They shouldn't interfere with your work, but if one does…well, what is one less neko youkai?"

"Good, good. And my payment?"

"The rest will be delivered upon completion of the contract." Uragiri said. She could hear the rustle of cloth and clink of metal. "You are sure about the female? That she has no ties to the old Inu no Taishou?"

"She has been lying to the young lord. The poor lovesick fool, it seems to run in the family." The other voice laughed dryly. "My lord, it has been a pleasure doing business with you, but if you will excuse me I have much to prepare."

Kagome stayed pressed against the side of the building, numb from shock. She had to find Sesshoumaru, and she had to find him now. She turned to run back the way that she had come only to crash right into the last person she wanted to see. Uragiri frowned down at her.

"I thought I smelled something out here," he said. "What did you hear?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she declared, standing up straight and clutching at the edge of her veil.

He gripped her arm, growling dangerously. "What did you hear?"

"Nothing!" she said, struggling to pull away. "I didn't hear anything."

"Hn…Well, it doesn't matter in the end, I suppose," he said, dragging her into one of the warded storehouses.

"Hey! What are you doing? You can't seal me in here!" she shrieked, pounding on the door until the wards burned her wrists and forearms. "Let me out!"

"Scream all you like," she heard him through the door. "Even if someone hears you the wards will keep you contained."

She slammed her shoulder against the door, a line of fire burning along her skin from the anti-demon wards reacting to the trace amounts of youki in Inu Yasha's blood. The door wouldn't budge. Kicking and hitting it proved to be similarly ineffectual. She looked around for something else she could use.

The room was filled with dusty chests and boxes. They were all crammed in with barely space for her to move. She opened the nearest chest to reveal a red silk banner neatly folded with the mon prominently displayed. Underneath that a katana and wakizashi were set carefully into thick silk lining. Her fingers brushed lightly against the katana and the weapon's youki was a cool tingle under her touch. She could feel it pacing restlessly. It had been waiting for so long for someone to pick up and it was so lonely. Wouldn't she, please, pick it up? Not for long, just for a bit. Pick it up and-

Kagome snatched her hand away, she threw the banner back over the daishou and slammed the lid down. She leaned down on it heavily, eyes shut tight as she tried to not be sick. She wondered if Uragiri was aware of what he had locked her in with. Maybe he didn't care. The thought made her shiver, but she couldn't just sit here waiting for sunset, scary youkai weapons or not.

She unwrapped one forearm and used the cloth to tie her hair up out of her face as she methodically sorted through the boxes trying to find something that she could use to pry open the door without activating the wards. She was careful not to touch the weapons any more than she absolutely had to but she could still feel them in the back of her head clawing for her attention. There were swords, pole arms, and other weapons of bone and metal that reeked of old death and long disuse. She found a beautifully wrought recurve bow made of layers of horn. Its youki stirred sleepily when she touched it but didn't pull at her mind like the other weapons did. Packed away with it was a half full quiver of arrows. These she set by the door, getting out of here before sunset was not looking good and she might need a weapon that she could actually use.

She was barely two-thirds of the way through the room, with no sign of anything else even remotely useful, when an uncomfortable tingling sensation alerted her to the setting sun. She pushed back the long sleeve of her furisode to reveal the rapidly fading marks on her bare arm. Her head spun as her powers rushed through her, her aura expanding and stretching as it was freed from its usual constraints. She closed her eyes and reveled for a moment in the sensation of unrestricted freedom. She could sense the youkai around her, filled with chaos and confusion, turning her head she could see the cold dark gold that she had come to identify as Sesshoumaru, horrified to see his youki weakening. Galvanized into action she snatched up the bow and quiver. The door swung open easily, wards dissipating at her touch.

She ran towards Sesshoumaru's fading presence. Grateful for her wandering and the familiarity of the compound it had afforded her, she could easily avoid the youkai between her and her destination. Most of them were, thankfully, more interested in fighting each other then paying any attention to her. _Let's hear it for readymade diversions; nobody has a clue what is going on._ Least of all her but she was armed and brimming with power, so it was workable.

She found him in the Hall of Ancestors. The building was usually steeped in dark youki but tonight there was something more, a heaviness and the smell of rot in the air that made it hard to breathe. She shouldered open the door and placed an arrow to string.

"Sesshoumaru!" she called out to him, but froze just inside the threshold. He was down on one knee using the Tenseiga to prop himself up. The blade was buried a third of the way into the stone floor and was glowing with a golden light that was barely able to stave off the darkness around him. The arrow slipped from her fingers and she wasn't seeing Sesshoumaru any more, her mind was lost to her memories.

She had sensed the shard in the old abandoned temple that she and Inu Yasha had gone to investigate. Inside, it didn't appear to be as abandoned as they had previously thought it to be, everything was immaculately cleaned and there had been incense in the burners. The tainted shard was resting on the alter and she reached out for it heedless of the darkening shadows. Inu Yasha noticed, and acted. She found herself flung forcefully away from the alter and out into the bright afternoon sunlight. By the time she had scrambled to her feet and staggered to the door of the temple the fight was over. Inu Yasha was kneeling with the Tetsusaiga holding him up, the blade buried deep into the floor. He turned then and looked at her. His golden eyes were wide, she could read the regret and sorrow in his gaze. His mouth moved and though she couldn't hear his voice she knew the words he spoke, "Kagome, I'm sorry." Then the darkness closed in on him, and he was gone.

She stared up into that malevolent darkness, and her fingers tightened on the bow in her grip. Her breath burned in her lungs and she felt paralyzed by fear, it was happening again, she was losing him again. The darkness closed in as the figure collapsed, golden light fading, and she pulled back on the string. The youkai-made bow disintegrated with the force of her power but the arrow flew true. A wave of purifying light cut through the screaming darkness. She ran forward in its wake. "Inu Yasha!"

She rolled over the white clad figure to lay his head gently in her lap, confused by crescent moon mark above his golden eyes until she remembered; Inu Yasha was dead. Sesshoumaru looked up with glazed and unfocused eyes. He turned his face towards the palm of her hand and sniffed delicately, a slight crease on his brow. "This Sesshoumaru remembers you, Miko."

"Sesshoumaru…" she murmured, unsure of what to say.

"Why are you here?" he snarled at her and struggled to sit up. "Was not my brother's death enough?"

"I- what? No…what?" What is he talking about? She tried to help him up but was hampered by his sudden aversion to her touch. Then he froze, his attention focused above them. "Sesshoumaru?"

"Get down!" He turned and tackled her. Flat on her back she could see over Sesshoumaru's shoulder to the gathering darkness above that he was shielding her from and then it came crashing down on them. She flung up her unpinned arm and screamed. Her power flooded through her, brilliant light flaring in the darkness, and suddenly hers wasn't the only voice screaming. She continued to pour out her power, trying not to think of what she was doing because the moment she thought about it she would realize that she didn't know what she was doing and the light would fade away and they would die. Her lungs ached for breath and her arm shook with the strain. She could feel Sesshoumaru pressed against her, his body tense and trembling. When he gave a hoarse cry in her ear she realized that she was hurting him too and as suddenly as it had come the light was gone, leaving only the faintest afterimage dancing across her vision.

"It appears to be gone," he said, cautiously standing with senses strained outwards searching the shadows. She got up, staggered on quivering legs to the incense burner and overturned it, smothering the burning incense with ash and sand. He snarled and grabbed her wrists. "What are you doing? How dare you?"

"I just saved your life!" She shouted at him. "That was an assassin hired to kill you, and there was poison in the incense."

"Lies, that's redicu-" he was cut off by forceful coughing fit that doubled him over. His jaki was threaded through with veins of the slimy dark rot that she had sensed in the air before her powers purified it.

"Oh, gods. We have to get you out of here," she said. "Do you have a safe place to go to?"

"This is…this should not happen here." He shook his head and looked at her with an open expression of hurt and confusion so raw on his features that she had to turn away. She could feel the youkai around her now that the darkness was gone. The inu were pushing back the intruders and it wouldn't be long before they turned their attention to Sesshoumaru and herself.

"We have to get out of here," She repeated. He nodded reluctantly and reached for the Tenseiga. It was still firmly fixed into the stone floor. He gripped the hilt and pulled, but the poison had weakened him too much and he could not free the blade. He growled in frustration. "Leave it."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"As you say, we have to get out of here." He staggered for the door. "Besides, the fang is worthless to anyone else."

They made their way through an unguarded breach in the curtain wall to find the city in chaos. Youkai were running every which way and fires raging freely. He guided them, not to the city gates, but to a residential area. Things were quieter in this part of the city, a few even looked askance at the two figures staggering through the streets. He dragged her to a townhouse and pounded on the door. When it opened, she felt the breath catch in her chest for the second time that evening. Sango gazed out at them, dressed in dark taijiya armor.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? And…Miko-sama?" Kagome blinked and frowned at the crack in the taijiya's low voice.

"Kohaku, see that Ah-Un is prepared for travel." Of course Sango wouldn't be here, she wouldn't be anywhere. She was dead. Kohaku's eyes widened at their harried appearances. "Now, boy!"

He bowed and disappeared. They entered the now vacant doorway into a small interior courtyard. She murmured softly, "He looks so much like his sister."

Sesshoumaru made a non-commental noise and coughed. She rubbed his back reflexively and he pulled away. "You never said why you are here."

"I-"

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken ran up to them waving the Staff of Two Heads around in the air above him. "Sesshoumaru-sama has come to save us…are we going somewhere Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kohaku had appeared leading the saddled two headed dragon. Sesshoumaru settled himself onto the saddle and pulled her up in front of him. "Shall I awaken Rin? Yes, I shall do that. Sesshoumaru-sama always travels with Rin and Jaken."

"Jaken, no. Stay here, only if any-" A deep cough interrupted him. When the fit passed he rested his head against her shoulder, drained.

"If anyone should come looking for us we weren't here, alright?" She asked.

Jaken swelled up with indignation. "Shall we lie? To not acknowledge Sesshoumaru-sama's noble…"

"Jaken, Kohaku, please? It's important."

"Yes, Miko-sama. No one here saw either of you…" Kohaku curled his fingers into a fist and brought it down firmly onto the protesting Jaken's head. "…And the poor old kappa, I'm afraid, is going senile. Most of the time he doesn't know what he's saying."

"Thank you." She smiled at him and looked down. She found herself with a handful of reins and, being quite uncertain of what to do with them, she clicked her tongue and tugged on them hoping that dragons weren't too much different from horses; horses that she had never seen outside of TV. That she hadn't watched in three, almost four years. Sesshoumaru seemed to find her antics amusing as he was either chuckling or coughing into her shoulder. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but if he kept it up he was going to get her elbow in his gut, poisoned or not.

He reached around her and carefully sorted the strips of leather and wrapped them around her left hand. He then slapped the long trailing ends of the reins against the dragon's scaled shoulder and gave a soft huffing bark. The dragon took off, leaving the ground, and the city, behind astonishingly quickly. Learning to steer the flying beast was surprisingly similar to learning to play one of her brother's flight simulator games, completely counter-intuitive. Not only with up meaning down but pulling the reins to her left turned the animal to the right, and visa-versa. Luckily, no one was appearing to give chase and the dragon seemed to be immune to dizzy spells. Sesshoumaru's contributions ended at getting them off the ground and making sure she knew how to steer, soon after he fell asleep resting against her back. She turned the dragon east and north towards the only sanctuary she knew of, the Sunset Shrine.

Time was almost meaningless in the unchanging darkness. Were they flying for minutes or hours? The receding light from the burning city was long since behind them when she realized that she really had no idea where they were. With only the pale starlight to show the way the ground below them was a dark featureless sea, they could fly right over the shrine and she'd never notice. She shivered in the cold, thin air that whipped around them and tried to tuck herself further under Sesshoumaru's warm body. He was not doing well; his body was feverishly warm and wracked with coughing fits that threatened to send them both tumbling to the ground.

All she knew was that with the fear and adrenalin fading, exhaustion was beginning to set in and her chin was gradually drifting down to her chest. She jerked herself awake once again when the rolling forests below her suddenly gave way to an open expanse of starlight. She flinched back from the disorientating void that had engulfed them and Sesshoumaru began falling back, slipping from the saddle. She turned to catch him, completely forgetting about the reins in her hand. Ah-Un spun around in a tight circle that did not help Sesshoumaru's balance and he slipped further away from her. She cried out and let go of the reins to reach back and grab onto him with both hands. The dragon, snorted, shook itself, and dropped from the sky. Kagome screamed as they plummeted. The only thing keeping her from complete freefall were her legs hooked into ridges, molded into the saddle, possibly, for this very reason. The dragon pulled up sharply with a loud splash and spray of cold water that soaked her legs to mid-thigh. Secretly amazed that both she and Sesshoumaru had kept their seats, she carefully slid from the saddle to find herself knee deep in cold water.

"A lake." She said looking around. The water rippling around them was causing the reflection of the stars to flicker and dance. She could make out the shore's tree line by the solid blackness that blotted out the starlight. She made sure that Sesshoumaru was balanced on the dragon's back and not likely to slide off before gathering the reins to lead the dragon to the shore. "Stupid lake. Move, you stupid dragon."

Ah-Un balked, and dug its claws into the sandy lake bottom. After several minutes of yelling and pulling she gave up. She slogged around to the dragon's side, draped Sesshoumaru's good arm over her shoulders and pulled. The dragon staggered and shook itself, knocking her on her rear and dumping Sesshoumaru on top of her. "Uff, you were a mule in your previous life weren't you?"

Ah-Un snorted at her.

"Yes, you were. I'm a priestess I know these things." She picked herself up and once again draped Sesshoumaru's arm across her shoulders she began dragging him to where she was reasonably certain the closer shore was.

She had staggered forward a few steps when Ah-Un put its nose right in the middle of her back, huffed, and shoved, driving her to her knees. Sesshoumaru was once again dumped into the shallow water. Ah-Un nosed at one hand of her hands, sliding warm scales under her palm. Its other head was sniffing at Sesshoumaru's prone form.

"No, go away. I don't like you anymore." She shoved it away and picked up Sesshoumaru again, hoping that he hadn't inhaled any water. That was the last thing he needed with all the other crap in his lungs. Eventually they made it to the shore with the dragon dogging her heels.

She laid Sesshoumaru down, his skin burned with fever and his coughing had gotten worse, from poison or water or both she couldn't tell. They needed a fire, light and warmth. She regretted not thinking first and finding some way to get to her meager collection of belongings. She didn't carry much anymore, not like she used to with her huge yellow backpack, but she could have killed for the small lighter she kept or that little bottle of Tylenol. She turned to Ah-Un. "I don't suppose that you happen to be a fire breathing dragon?"

It snorted at her.

"No, of course not, that would be too easy." The only things she had were her clothes, the mended fire-rat haori and the poor abused furisode, and a quiver of arrows sans bow. Wait, the quiver, didn't some archers store stuff in…she slipped the strap off her shoulder and dumped the few remaining arrows onto the ground. Carefully, she ran her fingers along the molded leather, and yes, it had a false bottom. A few moments of fumbling in the dark and she managed to pry it open. She found coils of string, a small vial, a metal file, and a small stone. She experimented with striking the file against the stone and, after rapping her fingers smartly, sparks flew. Success! She grinned triumphantly.

Next step was to find wood. But she needed light to find the wood to make the light. Maybe if she could make a torch. The arrow shafts wrapped with silk could work, provided the cloth wasn't too wet to burn. Sesshoumaru was soaked from head to toe, and she really wasn't much better off. She crossed her fingers and untied her obi. The knot he tied yesterday was rather complex requiring many loops of fabric. Now that it was damp it was a struggle to untie but she managed. And yes, pieces of it were dry having been protected from the water by the outer folds. She ripped away the damp cloth with a sharp arrowhead. It was messy and she nicked her fingers several times. Eventually, she had enough cloth to tie around the small bundle of arrows. The silk caught a spark after she had bashed her fingers a few more times. She carefully tucked the flint and metal file into her haori and started to look for usable firewood. She was afraid to wander too far, least she be unable to find her way back or Sesshoumaru need her, but fortunately the lakeshore provided suitable driftwood and she soon has a fire roaring merrily with her furisode draped before it to dry. Now, she could see to helping Sesshoumaru.

Not only was he burning with fever but he was shivering so hard that his teeth were chattering. His lips were cut and bloody from being occasionally caught between sharp fangs. She dragged him closer to the fire and started to strip the cold, damp cloth from him. When she got down to his loincloth she hesitated. It was just as wet as everything else he had been wearing, and no doubt it would be unhealthy for him to remain in it, but still, she hesitated and blushed. That was when she had noticed that his teeth had stopped chattering although his body still shook with chills. His jaw was clenched tightly and he was watching her through half-lidded eyes. She reached out to brush the damp bangs from his face but he flinched away. "Sesshoumaru?"

"Do what you must, miko, but don't touch me more then you have to." He bit out through clenched teeth. She frowned at the cold tone in his voice and then she realized what he was tacitly giving her permission for. There was no way she could politely bow out of it, it had to be done, and it's not like she hadn't seen him naked before. She blushed and steeled herself for the task. She hooked her fingers under the twisted cloth at his hips, looked away, and pulled. She cringed as the cloth was slowly peeled off his wet skin, her blush creeping downward until she felt almost as feverish as he did. Once she had untangled the loincloth from his legs she gathered together all of his wet clothes and began to lay them out by the fire, careful to keep her back to him. They steamed in the heat after she had arranged and re-arranged them, then she checked to see if her furisode was dry. The hem was still a little damp, but it was warm and that had to count for something. She picked it up and returned to Sesshoumaru, carefully keeping her eyes on his face as she draped it over him. He examined the blue cloth with a troubled crease marring the moon on his brow, his claws delicately tracing over a fiery leaf.

"Kagome." He whispered and looked around the small circle of light. He fought to sit up as she pushed him back down. It was a struggle but the fact that she could do it testified to how badly the poison had weakened him. "Where is she?"

"Sesshoumaru, you're hurt and you have to rest," she admonished him.

"Where is she?" He snarled.

"Where's who? There's no one else here!" She cried, frustrated at his strange behavior and weird questions, but her words only seemed to distress him further.

"Where is Kagome? Miko, if you have hurt her in any way…" his threat trailed off into an incomprehensible growl. She stared at him in confusion, but she was Kagome…oh, right. He thought 'Kagome' was someone else.

"It's okay, she's fine." She hastened to reassure him. "She's safe. You'll see her in the morning."

Gradually, he allowed himself to be settled. They sat in silence listening to the crackling of the fire. She was starting to nod off and decided to check on him one last time before she passed out for real. His eyes were closed but his jaw was still clenched tight so she doubted that he was sleeping. She touched his forehead to check his temperature and looked at him with her other vision. His fever was still running high and the insidious darkness was still choking his jaki. She wished that she dared to purify it but she worried that her powers would do more damage then the poison.

"He loved you, you know," he said, with his eyes closed and his face turned away.

"What?" She asked.

"My brother. He loved you."

"No, he loved her," she said, looking away to the fire suddenly uncomfortable.

"You are wrong. I remember," he said softly, his voice rough and low. "I remember the day we destroyed Naraku he had asked for me to see you safe if he should die."

"I didn't know," she whispered. He gripped her arm and she turned back to him.

"My brother asked me for nothing, yet he would ask me for this." They stared at each other the silence echoing between them. He let go of her arm and settled back. "I told him that should he fall, I would see that you received a clean death to join him in hell."

She stared at him in shock, mouth gaping open. By the time she could even begin to articulate a reply, he was asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Four

She woke to the bright light of the midday sun stabbing into her brain and a warm heavy weight at her back. Her body ached with the soreness of being in one position for far too long, which she couldn't really understand because it's not like she was particularly comfortable. Her arm was twisted under her and had gone completely numb, there were rocks cutting into her hip and she had a pounding headache. She rolled away from the warmth at her back, shivering as the chilly air rushed in to fill the space. Sesshoumaru snarled and pulled her back. He buried his face against the back of her neck and pressed his body against hers and…_hello, he's feeling much better. _

She blushed and squirmed, trying to find some position that did not result in the keen awareness of his more intimate parts. But for every movement she made away, he just pulled her closer. Eventually she had twisted around to lie on her back with Sesshoumaru half draped over her and his head tucked into the crook of her neck, while this did very little to alleviate her embarrassment at least it eased the pressure on her arm and hip. She draped her free arm over her eyes and considered her options, none of which seemed to involve escaping with her dignity intact.

Not to mention that she had no idea how to even begin to explain away what had happened last night. She had already lucked out with Sesshoumaru sleeping through the dawn when the binding sutras reappeared. Could she even start to explain? She had honestly no idea how he would react to the truth, especially that truth, and with her health and well being on the line she did not want to press the issue. Maybe he would chalk the whole thing up to some fever induced delirium. _Yeah, I should be so fortunate. _

Further deliberation was brought to an abrupt halt when Ah-Un apparently decided that they had slept long enough. It shoved one of its noses against Sesshoumaru's ear, completely oblivious of her attempts at fending it off, and snorted, loud and wet. Sesshoumaru jerked awake and shoved the dragon away with a forceful growl. He sat up, rubbed his bleary eyes and sniffed the air. "Kagome?"

She momentarily considered feigning sleep. _Aw hell,_ he could probably tell if she was faking it or not. "Yeah?"

He didn't say anything, just continued rubbing his eyes and clutching the furisode to himself. She sat up and scooted away grateful that she, at least, was dressed. "Sesshoumaru?"

There was still no response and she was starting to get a little worried. She carefully examined his jaki, the dark rot had receded but not disappeared completely and his youki was stronger than it had been last night though it was still a far cry from what she had grown accustomed to seeing. "Are you okay?"

"You should not be here," he said.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

"You should have stayed at the den," he said. "It would have been safer."

"Safer?" she echoed. "Are you delusional? Did you forget where you were poisoned?"

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter who my enemy is. The clan would have protected you."

"Yeah, they were doing a great job when I was locked in the storehouse."

"What?" Now he looked up at her. She nodded and told him about overhearing Uragiri paying off the assassin and being locked in the weapons' storehouse. Sesshoumaru's expression became clouded with rage and his hands tightened on the furisode, claws ripping into the silk. When she finished he asked tightly, "How were you able to get out?"

She shifted uncomfortably and considered how to safely answer him.

"Those wards are keyed to only certain members of the clan. Someone had to let you out, who?"

"The, um, the miko came then and let me out. We were supposed to meet outside the city, but, ah…I found you here this morning instead." _Please, oh please, don't think too hard about the holes in that._

He nodded absently, "Where is the miko now?"

"I don't know. She left."

"She left?" Kagome nodded. "When?"

"Around dawn?"

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe she had duties to perform somewhere?"

"Don't you know what she is?" he snarled.

"Who, the miko?"

"The Shikon no Miko." Not sure how to respond to that she remained silent. He turned and gripped her hand. "You have to stay away from her."

"What? Why?" she asked, _how can I stay away from myself? _

"You carry shards. I know that you do, otherwise you wouldn't seek more so adamantly." He said. "But so does she and she has more power than you can comprehend. Just stay away from her, for your own safety."

"Um, okay," she said slowly, still trying to wrap her mind around the surreal conversation they were having. He almost made her sound dangerous. She looked away, her gaze falling on the pile of his clothing. "I'll, um, see if your clothes are dry."

She disentangled herself from his grip and escaped. He let her go with little complaint. This new emotional Sesshoumaru was really starting to freak her out. _It's the poison, it's made him delusional,_ she decided. The clothing was dry, stiff and rough and speckled with green algae. She shook the worst of the pieces out vigorously; they didn't improve, and brought them back to Sesshoumaru.

"Well, your clothes are a little worse for wear, but it's better than nothing." She said handing them over. He accepted them and stood up, leaving the furisode on the ground. She spun around and closed her eyes. "Okay, could you warn me next time you do that?"

"And shall this Sesshoumaru announce his every movement, even in battle that the enemy may gain the advantage?" She could hear the rustle of cloth as he got dressed.

"Well, hopefully you wouldn't be in battle stark naked," she said.

"One never knows when the enemy will attack," he murmured in her ear.

She jumped and turned her head to look into his amused gold eyes. "Then I guess you're just screwed."

His face was open and relaxed, lips quirked upwards in a small smile but as he studied her face his light expression faded and his eyes became closed off again. "Kagome, where is your veil?"

_Oh, shit._ "I, um, don't know," she winced. "I had it yesterday. I don't even remember losing it, but, that's okay right? It was only for the den, wasn't it?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, catching on the knots and tangles. "No, Kagome. It wasn't just for the den."

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault. You have never learned any better."

Somehow that only made her feel worse. "What are we going to do?"

He gathered Ah-Un's reins and adjusted the saddle. "We are going back to the den."

"No," she said. "Not happening."

"Kagome, it's for your own safety."

"Screw that!" she snapped. "What about your safety? What if Uragiri tries to kill you again?"

"He will," Sesshoumaru said grimly. "If he dares to submit to my challenge I will rip his bared throat out."

"Right!" she said, not really understanding what he was saying but she knew immanent violence when she heard it. "You are still weakened by the poison and you cannot go back until the effects are completely gone."

"This Sesshoumaru is not weak," he growled.

"Well, you aren't exactly at the peak of health either." He didn't respond, instead he lifted his head and scented the air. "We just need to hole up somewhere for a couple days, maybe a week…"

She trailed off as she could sense a shikon shard drawing close behind her. She spun around and examined the tree line. At first nothing changed, but the eerie silence of the birds and other natural wildlife made the hair at the nape of her neck stand up. Straining her senses she could see the bloody youki, bloated with the power of a shard. Reflexively she rubbed at her wrapped wrists to reassure herself that the sutras were in place.

The youkai stepped out into the open. It was a lesser wolf barely able to maintain a humanoid form. Balanced precariously on two malformed hind legs, with a vaguely wolfish head and thick reddish-brown fur, it looked more like a badly made wolf-man costume than a proper youkai. It was dressed in battered armor and the shikon shard was imbedded into its skin beside its eye. It lifted its muzzle and scented the air before looking directly at her. Sesshoumaru snarled and pulled her behind him. She stumbled and fell hard on her rear.

"Sesshoumaru, What's going on?" She asked but it was too late the wolf charged forward in a loping, ground eating run and the two youkai clashed together. When they separated Sesshoumaru's white hakama was stained with blood that she was horrified to realize was his own. The two demons circled each other warily. Then the wolf gave a large gaping grin at Sesshoumaru's limping gait, pivoted on its heel and ran towards her.

It had barely crossed half the distance when Sesshoumaru completed his full transformation and caught the wolf in his teeth. It howled and its body twisted wrongly growing to a comparable size. The wolf circled Sesshoumaru who kept himself between it and her. Both were hurt, Sesshoumaru was limping on his hind left leg, blood staining white fur. Curiously enough, his borrowed limb had transformed as well, into a silver-grey paw with crisscrossing stripes of darker grey. The wolf was badly wounded where the puncture wounds from Sesshoumaru's teeth had stretched into deep gashes with its transformation.

The wolf leapt at Sesshoumaru who dodged lightly to one side, lashing out with his borrowed limb, catching the wolf in its stomach and tossing it aside. She though the move strange for a dog, then saw the bloody gashes and the retractable scimitar-like claws on Sesshoumaru's paw. The wolf was badly damaged, it was bleeding profusely and she could smell the signature stench of a punctured intestine. The wolf lifted its head and snarled but didn't get up. It probably couldn't as it had hit the ground pretty hard. Sesshoumaru darted in and sunk his teeth into the wolf's throat with green poison flowing freely.

But it wasn't enough, the stomach wounds were already closing and she doubted that even Sesshoumaru's poison could withstand the powers of a shikon shard for very long. She scrambled to her feet and skirted around Sesshoumaru's growling form. He swiped at her but his movement was limited by his hold on the wolf's throat. This conveniently held it still for her to reach up and pull out the shard that had been pressed into its skin. The wolf thrashed violently before finally succumbing to the poison, it shuddered and died

The next thing she knew Sesshoumaru had transformed back into his humanoid form and was dragging her away from the body with a grip on her arm that was so tight she was worried about losing her fingers. He was growling, a soft low rumble that scared her. "Sesshoumaru, what's wrong?"

He turned abruptly and faster than her mind could follow pulled her close, holding her tightly with one hand in her hair forcing her head back. He leaned down and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. "Never do that again."

Her pulse raced from his sudden closeness and it was hard to think. "Do what?"

He snarled and bit her lightly. Not a nice bite that lovers gave one another but a wide open-mouthed bite with the press of fang to vulnerable skin. It was a show of force displaying that he could do more, that he could leave her broken and bleeding at anytime but chose not to. Her breath hitched in fear and her heart thundered in her ears. He released her throat and gently licked along her pulse. "Never interfere with a fight again."

She tried to speak but couldn't force more than a squeak out of her fear closed throat. She nodded and nearly collapsed with relief when he pulled away from her. He didn't release her. Instead he studied her carefully, noticing her clenched fist. He lifted her hand and held it between them "What is this?"

She opened her hand, showing him the Shikon shard she had recovered. He picked it up and carefully examined the tainted shard. "This is from the wolf?"

She nodded.

"You can sense the Shikon no Tama? How?"

She shrugged. "It's like sensing any other kind of power, just different."

"Different."

"It's like…you know the untainted Shikon no Tama is in perfect balance between the four souls right?" He nodded and she struggled to find the words to explain something there were no words for. "A tainted shard is out of balance and it…echoes in my head. It's like…it reflects the type of power around it, but imperfectly so I can say that that is a shard and that isn't."

"I see." He studied it a moment longer before tucking it away.

"Hey, that's mine!" He stared at her, eyes flat and emotionless. She looked away and mumbled. "But I guess you can have it."

He turned away and limped to Ah-Un. Once seated he looked back to her. "Come."

She stared at his clawed hand and debated whether or not she wanted to go with him. But he did seem to want her with him for some unknown reason. How far could she get away, really, if she tried and he didn't want her to go? And what would he do about it? Even wounded and sick he was faster and stronger and far, far more powerful than she was. She might have had a chance last night. _I should have grabbed that shard and run,_ she realized. _Now he has two of them and me._

She placed her hand in his. "We're not actually going back to the den are we?"

There was a long pause before he said quietly. "This Sesshoumaru is willing to listen if you have a viable suggestion."

"Well, the Sunset Shrine is where I was thinking of," she said. "But if you have another place in mind…"

"Your home will be acceptable."

... ... ...

"This is entirely your fault you know." Kagome rested her head on the altar and studied the Tetsusaiga. It wasn't exactly proper but if anyone had earned the right, it was her; and if anyone deserved it, it was Inu Yasha. Her eyes were having some problems focusing on the battered katana. It probably had something to do with the half empty jar of sake resting on the floor next to her.

"You survived getting shot through the heart, you survived your brother shoving his hand through your gut, you survived Naraku and I can't even remember what else." She paused to take another swallow of sake. They really brought out the good stuff for the festival, but then it was the anniversary of Naraku's death and this was the first year that she or anyone else who had been there was around for the celebration. "After all that you survived, why just die when we had won?"

She carefully turned around and sat down facing the empty shrine. She could see the light of the lanterns out in the courtyard and hear the gentle murmur of the few people who remained this late. "It was my fault, wasn't it? I was never good enough, never strong enough, not like she was.

"She always did the right thing, even when it was the wrong thing. And me, what did I do?" She had freed an imprisoned demon once when she released the sealing arrow and twice when she pulled the Tetsusaiga from the Inu no Taishou's grave where it could be broken or lost. She would have given up the Shikon no Tama and not thought twice about the repercussions. She still would and gladly if, by some miracle, she were suddenly presented with the whole jewel.

"Me? I always did the wrong thing, dragging us from one disaster to another, that's why you wanted me to hide away wasn't it?" They had fought so bitterly over the plan, screamed at one another until she got so mad she couldn't even get out an intelligible "sit." She had thought that she'd finally won the argument, but then they'd lost Sango and Kagome herself had been badly hurt. Beaten and bloody, she had hazed in and out of consciousness for weeks. At first she had thought that the wounds were the cause of the strange illness and discomfort that had plagued her waking hours. Until she awoke one afternoon to find her arms covered in bloody writing. By then the spells were too far cast to be undone and the dark magic too dangerous to leave unfinished.

"Now, look where you've gotten me. I'm stuck with your brother of all people." Ever since they had come to the shrine he had been acting strange, thankfully he hadn't gone all scary on her since the lake, just weird. He'd gotten her another veil, one with crimson flower petals painted on pure white silk that she reluctantly wore when off of the shrine grounds, which wasn't very often. He'd insisted on bringing her her meals and then acted closed off and offended when she, very politely, told him that it wasn't necessary since she wasn't under house arrest at the shrine. And he was always there, watching her.

"Oh, you'd be very proud of him. He's managed to accomplish the one thing that you never had, he's kept me from seeing my family. It's not fair, I miss my mom." She whined. It was so frustrating to have the well house so very close and practically untouchable. Not that she'd had much left there for her anymore. She couldn't get into a high school, not even a poor one. Her mother told everyone that she was away going to some cram school or something to study, she was convinced that most of the neighbors thought she was a shut-in. Souta had his heart set on taking over the shrine after Grandpa died. It was so cute the way he denied it so vehemently that she couldn't take that away from him. Assuming that she could even finish her self-appointed task within this lifetime, and that's assuming a lot.

She tipped the sake back only to find it empty. She could get up and get more, but that required moving and the floor was so very comfortable. That, and she might run into Sesshoumaru stalking around outside. Tsuuki had managed to downplay Kagome's presence, that was her job after all, but there really wasn't much she could do to hide Sesshoumaru. And he was not happy about being the center of attention. Kagome couldn't really understand why, she'd always figure the he'd see it at his just due to be practically worshipped by the lowly humans. "You know, your brother is confusing. I don't understand why he does anything and talking to him is like reading every other page in a book. There's something I should know or do, but I don't, and the harder I try the worse I mess up."

"I did not realize that you were so poorly educated." Sesshoumaru's cold voice cut through her sleepy alcoholic haze and she was suddenly very awake and very sober.

"Shit. How long have you been there?" she asked, trying to go over in her head what she had said. _What had he heard?_

"Long enough. We leave tomorrow." He was certainly healthy enough to do so. His physical wounds had healed within a day. The poison took longer to work out of his system but now his youki was clear and strong. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "If you truly cannot understand me then the clan will be incomprehensible."

"Maybe I could just stay here?" she asked.

"That is not acceptable."

"Why not?" she cried. "Sesshoumaru, I don't belong there."

"You are inu youkai, no matter how diluted the blood," he said softly, reluctantly. "Your place is with the clan, not among these shrines no matter how tolerant they may be, and it is well past time you should learn about your father's people and yourself." He lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "The inu youkai value strength and the appearance of strength. Never look one directly in the eyes unless you wish to challenge them."

She tried holding his gaze, she really did, but his cold eyes bore into her like he could lay her soul bare. She pulled back, uncomfortable with his disconcerting stare, and looked away. The movement bared her neck to him. He gently combed his claws through her hair. "You have declared yourself weaker than me, but not yet submissive."

His fingers tightened in her hair and he pulled her head back, exposing her throat further. Her breath quickened and her fear threatened to choke her. "Were I desiring to force the issue, I could declare myself dominant to you. If you had any other dominant in the clan I would have to challenge them for the privilege."

He licked her throat, a flash of warmth and softness, and released her hair. "But such is often worthless; the dominant can only claim that which they can force. They give nothing and they gain nothing. A good dominant protects those who acknowledge their strength, and the willing submissive gives their loyalty and obedience. Without submitting a weaker inu is anyone's prey."

He paused and watched her with gold eyes shadowed, waiting for her to ask. But did she really want to know and would she be able to deal with the consequences if she did? She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "How do you…how do you submit?"

He lowered his head, his face almost touching hers "A touch of lips or teeth to mouth or jaw."

"Like this?" she asked and leaned forward to press a light kiss against the corner of his mouth feeling horribly self-conscious all the while. He closed his eyes and released a soft sigh.

"Yes," he said, his breath warm on her cheek, "exactly like. By reciprocating the attention the dominant accepts the submissive, or turns them away by ignoring them."

"I see," she said, stepping back. He growled softly and pulled her against him, pressing his mouth to hers he gently slid his tongue between her lips. She gasped and felt the air pulled from her lungs as he kissed her. After an eternity, and only too soon, he broke away rubbing against her, cheek to cheek, and lightly nipped her ear.

"Once my challenge with Uragiri is settled you must be the first to present yourself, submit to me and only to me. No one within or outside of the clan must doubt your loyalties or your place." She nodded. "Others will attempt to dominate you or to court you. Ignore them."

"Why?"

"By being first you will be high in my favor and of high rank in the clan."

She shook her head. "But I can't..."

"You must." He said, running a claw gently along her wrapped forearm. "You cannot afford to appear weak."

"I am weak," she said bitterly.

"No, you won't be," he said. "I will find a way to remove these chains. Until then, remain aloof from the clan's games and I shall take care of any who dare touch you."

"Um…are you sure removing the spells are a good idea?"

He frowned at her, "You would not prefer to be free of this?"

"Well, yeah, but…" she mumbled, trying to think of some way to deter him without raising any suspicions. "Perhaps they had a good reason to do this to me, maybe."

"Stop," he pressed a clawed finger gently against her lips. "That way lays madness. A hanyou may bind the youkai blood within them to keep it from overwhelming their weaker human wills. But this," he ran his thumb lightly over the key-spell above her heart. "There is no reason for this beyond cruelty."

"But…"

"You would prefer to continue hiding yourself with bandages?"

"…no," she tried to think of some way around his arguments.

"You would prefer to be human-blind unable to smell or hear anything around you?"

"…no," she grit her teeth.

"You would prefer to remain weak with no claws or abilities to protect yourself?"

"…no," she said.

"Then it is decided."

"But, what if they can't be removed? What if it's too dangerous without them on?"

"Then another way will be found. I will not allow you to descend into madness," he said combing her hair back off her face. "Do you doubt this Sesshoumaru's words?"

She bowed her head in defeat. "No."

He kissed her lightly on her forehead. "Good. Now come, it is time to rest we've a long way to go, we shall continue your lessons later."

When she and Sesshoumaru had entered the city everyone stopped and stared. She could feel the agitated youkai around her, and no wonder, Uragiri had probably announced Sesshoumaru's death and his ascension to the throne of the Western Lands the very day that they had fled the den. It didn't take long for word to spread of where they were going and the streets were lined with bystanders.

Now, hours later, Kagome knelt beside the pool in her little garden and nervously tugged at the hem of her fire-rat haori. She was torn between wanting to run to Sesshoumaru and wanting to just run. The two massive doors creaked open and Uragiri entered. He stalked to the center of the sandy opening and transformed into a massive grey dog. Moments later Sesshoumaru entered unarmed and unarmored. He paced forward gracefully. Without warning Uragiri rushed forward, sharp teeth snapping at Sesshoumaru, who leapt straight up into the air and landed on four feet rather than two. The two dogs were very different. Uragiri was significantly larger and stockier when compared to Sesshoumaru's slender coursing hound's build. Uragiri charged again and Sesshoumaru darted away, grazing the larger inu with a passing slash.

The two dogs continued along in that vein for quite some time with Sesshoumaru's smaller, lighter form darting and dodging easily around the larger dog. He remained untouched but was never able to do more than light cuts and scrapes. Uragiri finally wised up to the fact that Sesshoumaru was letting him run himself ragged and planted himself in the center of the arena. Sesshoumaru snorted softly, as if he found all of this to be terribly amusing and circled around Uragiri. Sesshoumaru leapt forward, darting in then away and Uragiri collapsed, dark blood staining the sand and Sesshoumaru's muzzle.

He stood, poised in the center of the arena, and turned to look at her. She shivered and stepped forward, compelled more by the intensity of his stare than by her own will. As she walked forward he transformed, without once breaking her gaze. She stopped before him and lifted her veil. He leaned in to breathe deeply of her scent. She turned her head and kissed his jaw, a light brush of lips against skin. Like when they were at the shrine he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. The silk veil slipped from her fingers to pool at her feet as the coppery taste of blood flooded her mouth. She attempted to pull back but his hold on her was too strong for her to break. His tongue slid in and out of her mouth rhythmically and, her stomach twisted in shocked disgust as her mind replayed over and over again Sesshoumaru ripping out Uragiri's throat, and she could feel his excitement as he pressed himself against her. She couldn't believe he was so aroused by blood and violence.

He broke off the kiss, leaving them both breathing hard. He gently licked her throat and nipped at her ear, whispering, "Do you trust me, Kagome?"

_No._ "Yes." Gently he turned her to face away from him and pulled her back against his chest. She shivered at the feel of his erection pressed against her. His breath warm along her neck was the only warning that she had before he gently bit down at the base of her neck where it joined the shoulder. She gasped and struggled, this was not part of the plan. His hold on her tightened as she threatened to pull away and he bit down harder. She could feel a trickle of blood slide down her shoulder as one of his fangs broke the skin. Her breath raced in and out in shallow pants.

"Inu no Taishou." Sesshoumaru growled softly, the sound muffled by her shoulder. She turned her head to see a young inu with long golden blond hair woven into a thick braid and night blue marks on his cheeks. When he saw that she was watching him he flinched and dropped his eyes. "Uragiri has survived, what do you wish to be done?"

Sesshoumaru was silent for a long time, she wondered if he had even heard the boy, when he lifted his head after one last gentle lick at her shoulder. "Uragiri has been disowned by the clan; we do not know this dog. He has guided enemies within our den, disgraced our traditions, and sought harm to a breeding female of the clan. Release him. Tonight we hunt."

The young guard bowed and took three careful steps back before turning and walking away. Sesshoumaru kissed her throat and stepped back. "Return to you room Kagome and wait. I shall bring you the bastard's heart to feast on."

She turned to say something but he was already gone. So were many of the youkai that had watched the fight from the gardens and balconies encircling the arena. Shaking, she picked up her discarded veil and returned to her room. It was going to be a long night.

... ... ...

AN: Previous chapters have been revised for clarity, thanks to ShortPoet for beta'ing.


	5. Chapter 5

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Five

She had just convinced herself that she was never going to sleep; she was so tied up with nerves. When the door slid open and she jerked awake from a sound sleep, blinded by the morning sun. "Sesshoumaru?"

He was kneeling beside her, cool hands pulling at her yukata and inspecting the small puncture wounds on her shoulder. "This would not have happened if you had not fought."

She sat up and pulled away. "Maybe if I'd have had some warning I wouldn't have fought."

"You said that you trusted me."

"That…that doesn't count!" she said, "You didn't tell me what you were going to do. That was not the plan we agreed on."

He gently brushed back the hair from her face. "I understand your fears, but it will be all right, Kagome. You will remain untouched. I declared you for my mate to keep you safe from the…less desirable males who would covet a powerless female."

"I…you…what?"

He took a step back his expression growing cold again. It was strange that she never noticed how open he was until he closed her out, "I will send out hunters at the end of the Season to find a monk who can tell us about these bindings. Once this is resolved the subterfuge will no longer be necessary." He handed her a wrapped package. "Now, eat your breakfast, there is something I want you to look at."

She started to open it but then thought better of it. She was going to throw up if he really did…what he said he was going to do. "This isn't…"

He tilted his head to the side in question.

"Last night, you said that you'd…with his heart…" She shuddered slightly.

"No, it's not," he laughed softly at her discomfort, and then his expression turned serious once again. "The bastard got away, I think it was his pet assassin but we can't be sure. I picked up human food for you in town after we established that he had fled the Western Lands.'

"Oh," she murmured while unwrapping the food. Breakfast was a rushed affair with Sesshoumaru practically standing over her and tapping his foot. Not that he would be so uncouth as to actually do so but he managed to convey that impression quite well.

After she had eaten and dressed he led her to the Hall of Ancestors. It didn't look any different from that night, the incense burner was still overturned onto the floor and the Tenseiga…_Okay, that was different._ The Tenseiga had been broken off below the hilt; most of the blade was still imbedded in the floor. The same blond inu youkai from last night was standing by the altar. As they stepped closer he knelt down before them.

"Keigo." Sesshoumaru motioned for him to rise, and turned to her. "Tell me, Kagome, what you know of mikos. Why would one do this?"

He gestured at the floor and she stepped forward to see writing had been etched into the stone with the broken blade. The words were jagged and ill formed making them difficult to read. "What is it?"

"It appears to be a poem," Keigo said. She knelt down beside the last word where the Tenseiga protruded from the last stroke. The blade was filled with the same dark rot that had poisoned Sesshoumaru. "Some of the words are…unusual but I believe I have managed a rough understanding of what the author intended. Of course, this is only the hokku, the beginning, which while the most vital part of the poem, the whole..."

"Keigo, what does it say." Sesshoumaru snapped. She reached out to touch the broken blade.

"Ah, yes…'By the killing death, the glory of the evening light, to darkness return'd.'" The sharp edge cut deeply into her palm and she could feel the dark rot sliding through the metal and into her. "It's almost nonsense, really…"

"Kagome, what are you doing?" Sesshoumaru asked. Her power retaliated. It burned away the spreading darkness and then poured through her hand into the Tenseiga until it touched the golden light hidden deep within the blade.

"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru's steps rang out loud in the empty Hall as he walked around the script towards her. The Tenseiga woke up. Its youki flared to life flooding the room with golden light and sending a searing pain into her palm and up her arm. She screamed in shock and agony. Sesshoumaru was at her side pulling her away from the blade. She clutched her wounded hand to herself and curled up against Sesshoumaru's chest. Gently but forcefully he pried her hand away and uncurled her fingers. A shiny burn scar marred her bloody palm. "What happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

He growled softly and picked her up. "Keigo, no one touches anything. Seal the Hall if you must."

Next thing she knew she was being carried through he halls back to her room. "I can walk, you know."

He growled and didn't put her down until they were at her room. He settled her down on a cushion and examined her hand again. He carefully licked the blood from her palm and prodded gently at the pink scar with the pads of his fingers. She squirmed under his attention. "Ow, are you done yet?"

"You appear to be fine." He released her hand. "What happened?"

"I don't know."

"What were you doing?"

"I just touched the Tenseiga."

His eyes narrowed, "Why?"

"I, I don't know?"

He sighed, "You were raised at a shrine, why would the miko do that?"

"You think…the floor?" Kagome shook her head. "I…she couldn't have

"Why not?"

"Well, first of all there wasn't enough time. You were with…her from when she entered the Hall, you would've seen something," she thought about it a bit more. "And that's even assuming that she was capable of it at all. Humans just aren't very physically strong and I think special tools are needed for carving stone. Maybe someone came in after w-you left."

He shook his head. "The Hall was secure. There is no scent of anyone who is not supposed to be there other than the miko."

"Uragiri? The assassin?" she asked. "The Tenseiga was poisoned, like you were, maybe that has something to do with it?"

"You knew it was poisoned and you still touched it?"

"I…um…" she looked away.

There came a soft scratching at the door. Sesshoumaru stood and slid open the door with a sharp snap of his wrist. "What?"

Keigo stood on the other side, looking startled at Sesshoumaru's abrupt tone. He bowed deeply before answering. "The Hall has been sealed, and there was some concern about the formal presentations among the clan. I thought you should know, Taishou."

Sesshoumaru sighed and ran his claws through his hair. A nervous habit he'd been exhibiting more and more often. He turned back to her with a measured look. "We shall discuss this later."

She nodded, he left, and that was the last she saw of Sesshoumaru outside of her mealtimes for quite a while. He was extremely busy with his new duties and having meals with her gave him a chance to take a break and relax. Not that he ever mentioned it, of course, but she figured it out when he told Keigo that the next person to interrupt her dinner was going to be her dinner. His conversation was often non-existent but then there were those odd moments of good humor that usually left her shocked speechless.

Over the course of several weeks she managed to learn what he was so busy with. Apparently, the formal presentations in which all of the members of the clan submitted to the new Inu no Taishou took place in the Hall of Ancestors. So, he had to arrange for the place to be renovated. He oversaw the removal of the marked floor and the broken Tenseiga. She wished she could tell him that the sword was alright now, after she had awoken it. It cleansed itself of the poison but if he couldn't see that for himself she was unsure how, exactly, she could bring it up without reminding him of other questions she hadn't yet answered.

Also, organizing the order of the presentations was a study in exasperation for him that often came down to actual challenges between members of similar rank or those individuals realizing a sudden ambition. The challenges were almost continuously ongoing and she couldn't bear to stay in her room any longer than she absolutely had to for the sounds of fighting out in the sandy arena. Sesshoumaru told her once that the challenges where originally fought over breeding females, which explained why the female residence was built as it was with unattached males housed elsewhere.

Thankfully, by claiming her as his mate after his defeat of Uragiri she was exempted from the mess because she had effectively already been formally presented. Unfortunately, it also seemed to make her persona non grata around the den. No one would look at her or talk to her, although she had the distinct impression that they were always watching when her back was turned. Not that they were the very souls of eloquence before but at least they hadn't been afraid of her, or of what Sesshoumaru would do on her behalf. She spent most of her days wandering the gardens avoiding people. So, it didn't come as a surprise that she had somehow missed the mass exodus.

"Where'd everybody go?" she asked, peeking into his study. He sat at a cluttered desk with a long scroll spread out before him.

"Home," he said without looking up.

"I thought this was home." She invited herself in and dropped down on a convenient pillow.

"Many prefer to stay at their own places outside of the Season." He still hadn't looked up.

"'Outside of the Season?'" she echoed. "You mean it's over?"

"Yes," Now he looked up with his eyebrow slightly quirked in surprise.

"And you didn't feel this sufficiently important to mention?" She asked. "I don't have to wear this stupid veil anymore. I can leave the…That means I can go into town. I _can_ go into town, right?"

His lips twitched slightly, "Yes, Kagome, you can go into town."

"Bye!" She grinned widely and threw her veil at him before taking off out the door.

Town was wonderful. Town was glorious. Town was something other than the same gardens and hallways she had wandered in and out of almost continuously for the past two months. With the new moon coming up again soon she'd come up with some half-assed plan of bullying Keigo into letting her out the gate. Actually, in some ways Keigo was as scary as Sesshoumaru but he'd always backed down before and would probably back down again. So, get past Keigo and get out of town before either Sesshoumaru or the sunset caught up with her. Needless to say it was a really, really bad plan. This whole not being under house arrest was so much better. There was shopping, and food, and shopping, and…

"Miko-sama?" she turned at the familiar voice.

"Kohaku!" she smiled. "How have you been? And Rin?"

"We have been very well, thank you." He smiled and nodded and invited her to lunch. They spoke almost entirely of Sango. They spent hours sharing tales of her old victories and grieving together. It was nice to learn about her time at the taijiya village and what she was like before the vengeance and grief that she shouldered had molded her into the woman Kagome had come to know.

Before she knew it, evening was threatening and they had to part ways. She made her way out of town and found a secluded little lake that seemed to be far enough away from the city to not attract any unwanted attention. She built a small fire, collected a pile of smooth skipping stones and settled in for a long night.

Kagome flicked another small stone into the dark water, her pile was almost gone and barely half the night had passed. It was no wonder Inu Yasha was so cranky this time of the month, always wondering when and if something was going to attack…

She straightened and turned her head to examine the dark tree line behind her. Even though it was pitch black and she couldn't see beyond the scope of her little campfire. She could feel the chill of an approaching youkai and she could see his dark gold youki long before he came into view. Sesshoumaru was looking for her. She just wished she knew which her he was looking for.

"Shikon no Miko." he addressed her coldly.

"Inu no Taishou," she stood and turned to face him, striving for the same coldness that Kikyou could pull off so well. She sometimes wished she had inherited more of Kikyou, more of her memories, more of her skills. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so lost all the time.

"Kohaku told me you were in the area," he said. "Tell me, Miko, do you have a death wish?"

"Why? Are you going to kill me now?"

"Perhaps," he sat down beside her fire and watched her expectantly until she knelt down beside him. "Where is Kagome?"

"Not here," she said.

"Miko, you try my patience," he growled. "She is mine, and I wish to know her whereabouts."

"I don't know where she is."

He watched her through narrowed gold eyes. "Leave her be."

"Excuse me?"

"She has shards, and you let her, let us, keep them. Why? Is she your stalking horse to draw your enemies out?" He held out his hand with the two shards. "Take these and leave her be."

She reached out for the shards reflexively. Her fingertips brushed against them and they were instantly purified but she did not pick them up. "A bribe, Sesshoumaru?"

"I will do what it takes to protect my lands and my people," he said. "Killing you is not the most advantageous option. The Shikon no Tama is a threat best neutralized and I understand that the task has been given to you."

She nodded and picked up the shards. "She isn't my…what you said."

She withdrew a penknife from where it was tucked under her obi and cut a small incision into her arm. Sesshoumaru's nostrils flared as the scent of blood reached him. "Miko, what are you doing?"

"I was born with the jewel inside of me, did you know that?" Sesshoumaru shook his head and watched her carefully insert the shards under her skin. Once there they moved of their own volition up her arm eventually to join the remainder of her shards, nestled next to her heart. Otherwise, the shards were vulnerable to taint and they could only be purified when placed under the bindings. "It's the only place that the jewel can be hidden."

He nodded and stood. "Leave the Western Lands, Miko, and do not return. There is nothing for you here."

"I go where I must, Inu no Taishou. Not even you can change that but, if it matters, I don't mean any harm to you or yours."

"I think you have already done enough harm. Tell me, have you been to my brother's grave?" She took a breath to respond but he was already gone.

"Bastard," she sighed, her breath pluming in the cold night air. She glared out into the darkness. She should leave. He didn't have anything tying her to him anymore. She should leave now while her scent was different. It would be harder for him to pick up her new scent in the morning and his duties would no doubt keep him too busy to go chasing after her.

But, she didn't really want to. Living alone and on the road had been difficult in the summer. In the winter it could be fatal. She could go home, perhaps even take that study course her mom had talked about and come back in the spring. She'd have to move though, away from the shrine and further into the city. She'd be even more alone than she was before Sesshoumaru found her. She was tired of being alone, tired of feeling lost. With Sesshoumaru she had a place and she was never lonely.

Truth be told she had come to actually like the cold, quiet youkai with his moments of lightheartedness that were like summer storms, brief, without warning and stunningly spectacular. The thought of leaving him, of sneaking away without a word, hurt with a stabbing pain that was almost physical in its intensity. He deserved to know the truth, but if he knew what would he think? What would he do?

She rested her head on her folded arms and let her thoughts chase each other around and around in head. By the time the sun rose she had resolved nothing. She sat beside the dead campfire wishing that she knew what to do. He found her again soon after.

"If I'd have known that this was what you were going to do I would have confined you to the den."

She blinked up at him. "Huh?"

"I told you to stay away from the Shikon no Miko."

"Oh, right. Sorry," she mumbled.

He pulled her to her feet. "Why do you insist on defying me, Kagome?"

"I don't. It's just that…" _Just what?_ she asked herself. _Just that he's made certain incorrect assumptions based on incomplete information that you gave him?_ "Sorry."

He combed her hair back from her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Kagome," he said sternly, a hint of warning in his voice.

"It's been a long night," she said. "I've had some hard realizations, that's all."

"Like what?"

_Like I love you,_ she shook her head. "Nothing important."

"It's alright. You don't have to tell me," he bent his head and kissed the side of her neck softly. Her breath hitched in her throat and her heart skipped a beat. "But come. I've found someone to take a look at the binding spells. Soon, all this will be over."

"Yeah," she offered a tremulous smile and followed him away from her little camp. They hadn't far to go.

The elderly monk sat serenely meditating, as if the fact that he was flanked by two heavily armed inu youkai was of no matter. Prayer beads slid through his fingers and clicked together, echoing in the still morning air. _Prayer beads actually used for prayer. Imagine that! _

He looked up at them and tucked the beads away. "Is this the young lady?"

Sesshoumaru gave him a brief nod. Another sharp gesture dismissed the guards. She knelt down before the monk and unwound her bandaged arms, pulling on the cloth re-opened the cut on her arm from last night. Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm. "What's this?"

She shrugged. "Got scratched the other day."

He frowned at her. "Kagome…"

"If I may see," the elderly monk gently pulled her hands towards himself. He turn her wrist this way and that, his touch on the sutras made the strange light waver and flicker she could feel her own powers inside her surge in response trying to reach out and touch his. "This is incomplete, there is more?"

She nodded and stood to unwrap her legs. The monk ran his hands along the writing on her legs. She grit her teeth and refrained from smacking him with a great deal of effort. "Interesting…but, ah, where is the main body of text?"

She blushed and didn't move.

"Show him, Kagome," Sesshoumaru said.

"But…"

He lowered his head and gently brushed his cheek against hers, his voice low and husky. "Do you trust me?"

She took a shuddering breath and turned her head so that her lips brushed lightly against his jaw as she whispered. "I'm afraid."

"You are mine. I will protect what is mine, always," he bowed his head and licked her throat, an action she now realized that he used to comfort or reassure her. "Show him the rest."

With shaking hands she loosened her obi and let the haori fall to her waist. The monk gently traced over and prodded at her back much as he had with her arms and legs. "Ah, I'm sorry, Miss. I don't mean to embarrass you but the writing extends somewhat lower…If you could please...?"

"Lower?" she turned to look at him over her shoulder, any lower and he'd be…she blushed and removed the haori entirely_. Pervert, I should've known Miroku would write on my ass._

A few excruciatingly embarrassing moments later and the old monk came around to her front and prodded at the key-spell. "I think, I've seen enough now. I'm sorry miss, you can get dressed."

He discreetly turned away allowing her some privacy as she got dressed, carefully keeping her knife away from Sesshoumaru's view. When everything was back in place she sat down next to the old monk and waited to hear the verdict.

He was silent for sometime, she could practically feel Sesshoumaru radiating impatience though anyone else probably wouldn't know it to look at him. Finally, the monk looked up, his face grave. "These markings are an abomination. The blood perverts the holy nature of the scripture and the purpose…"

"Can it be removed?" Sesshoumaru asked, softly growling his impatience.

"Once the key-spell," The monk tapped her chest lightly. "Is purified the remains of the curse will unravel itself."

"Then why have you not done so?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Because it could cause significant harm to your friend. The purification required would kill a true youkai," the monk gave her a piercing look, but she said nothing. He shrugged and continued. "Also, many such dark spells can be broken by the death of the castor."

"He's already dead." She said softly.

"Can the spells be modified or changed in anyway?" Sesshoumaru asked,

The priest shook his head. "Only the original castor would know, or be able to do that."

Sesshoumaru nodded and turned away. "Very well. Priest, you will receive the payment we agreed upon. Kagome, come."

"What…" she struggled to her feet and ran after him. "Where are we going?"

"To find Toutousai," he said. "It is past time for the Tenseiga to be repaired."

"Why?" she asked, baffled at the abruptness of his decision, he had seemed willing to wait before.

"I have questions that need to be answered."

"You have wha…!" It would be a lie to say that she didn't consider it, but only briefly. She grabbed his arm and pulled them to a stop. "No, no you can't."

"Kagome…" he gently placed his hands on her shoulders to placate her.

"Please," her voice had a tight edge of panic. "You don't understand…"

"Listen to me, Kagome," he said softly, his voice cold. "I tire of repeating myself and will not say this again. I will not allow anyone or anything to hurt you. If you doubt my word you are free to leave my protection, but I do not believe that that is what you want. Is it?"

"No," she looked away, but he remained close, waiting. She braced her hands on his armor and leaned forward to press a chaste kiss against his jaw. He relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to kiss her deeply. His hands roamed across her back, gently kneading the tense muscles in her shoulders until she relaxed against him.

When he finally broke away she felt weak and shaky, like her legs would collapse under her at anytime. He gently nipped and licked her pulse. "The Tenseiga will be re-forged, and you will show me to the bastard's grave. I will resurrect him; he will remove your bonds or suffer. Do you understand?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Good," he turned away. "Now come."

... ... ...

A week later, Kagome and Sesshoumaru waited outside of Toutousai's forge as he repaired the Tenseiga, which he had agreed to after much grumbling and griping. He seemed to give Sesshoumaru even more of a hard time than he had given Inu Yasha when he repaired the Tetsusaiga. Like before he needed additional material to bond the broken pieces together and he insisted that it be a real fang. It was quite comical watching the little old man with a pair of gigantic pliers trying to pull the tooth out of a dog a hundred times bigger than he was.

The sound of the forge stilled, the old smith came out and they both stood. Sesshoumaru stepped forward to accept the sheathed blade. He drew the Tenseiga and executed a simple strike to test the balance of the blade. He didn't seem to have any trouble with additional weight like Inu Yasha had. In fact the blade seemed lighter and thinner than it had been before. Although…she blinked her eyes rapidly to clear the odd double vision but it wouldn't go away. There was an edge of blue-white power that extended out beyond the metal and gold youki core of the blade. Toutousai watched Sesshoumaru handle the blade and nodded approvingly, perhaps the first sign of approval he had shown the demon lord since they had arrived. "You may find she's a little different, some new abilities, perhaps."

"Such as?" Sesshoumaru asked, sheathing the blade and tucking it under his obi.

"Hard to say, I've never worked with miko blood before." It took a minute for his words to sink in. Then she remembered cutting her hand on the tainted Tenseiga, coating the blade in her blood, and how the metal under her skin could be touched by her powers. She cringed and looked to Sesshoumaru.

"Miko's blood?" his expression shifting, changing from pleased to puzzled. "The only blood on the blade had been…"

"Quite a challenge I must say, keeping the two powers from destroying each other. But as you can see…it is done." The old smith preened as he wandered back into his forge. "No one else…no one else…"

"Sesshoumaru?" He was watching her, his expression smoothing out to that cool blankness, his eyes growing cold and hard as he put the pieces together, all the little slip-ups and unanswered questions. It was suddenly hard for her to breathe around the pain in her chest. "I can explain…urk!"

"This Sesshoumaru does not need to hear any more of your lies, Shikon no Miko," his hand was at her throat cutting off her air.

"For your deception alone, death would be a fitting punishment," she clawed at his hand, her vision growing fuzzy at the edges. She fell to the ground coughing and gasping when he released her. "And too merciful by far."

She grasped at the hem of his hakama, trying to force the air into her lungs to explain, to apologize. She didn't mean for it to go on as long as it had, she would have told him, somehow. She looked up at him, trying to speak, but the words froze in her throat. He was as cold and impassive as alabaster, looking down on her. Not even disgust or contempt in his eyes, just…nothing. "Pray, that you never see me again, Kagome…If that even is your name."

"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely but it was too late. He was already gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Six

"Stop, thief!" A rough voice bellowed out behind her.

Kagome slipped between two buildings and ran along the animal track behind them. Away from the protective awnings of the buildings she was almost blinded by the cold spring rain. She could hear the man crashing through the underbrush behind her. She clutched the tiny shard that she had so clumsily stolen in her fist and pushed herself for another burst of speed, she didn't know how long she could keep up this pace. The winter had been hard, despite the fact that she managed to take refuge in a small shrine not far from where Sesshoumaru abandoned her. Actually the local priest found her. She had lain in the road, huddled in on herself like some lost child. She just wanted to go home then, more than anything, to run home where her mother would brush away her tears and her grandfather would threaten to banish any demons with ofudas. But she was so far from the Sunset Shrine and she didn't know the way.

Kagome felt the stone under her heel, twisting her foot out from under her, before she could bring her arms up to protect herself, she was on the ground scraped up and muddy. She lay stunned for a moment listening to her pursuer draw closer. It wasn't until she realized that she no longer had the shard that she could force herself up. The long winter had helped her to put things into perspective, reminding herself that the shards were why she had stayed in the first place. It was something that needed to be put to right regardless of her hurt feelings and loneliness. She didn't stay hiding at home when the jewel was shattered, not after Naraku's defeat, not even when she'd lost Inu Yasha… she wasn't going to abandon her duty because Inu Yasha's jerk of a brother wouldn't listen to her side of the story. She searched frantically through the decaying leaves for the shard, oblivious to the sounds around her, she didn't know she had been found until a swift kick sent her sprawling. Out of the corner of her eye she briefly glimpsed a raised hand and flinched away from a blow that never came.

Cautiously she looked up, prepared for almost anything but what she actually saw. Keigo was holding the struggling man by the throat, as she watched he snapped the man's neck and dropped the corpse. He wiped his hand along his thigh with an expression of distaste on his face. She slowly inched away from him, freezing in place when he turned to look at her. "Kagome, where is Sesshoumaru?"

She felt her heart clench and skip a beat and her breath hitched in her throat. _No, no. Don't do this, _over _him, remember, _she chided herself before stammering out. "I-I don't know."

He frowned at her. "Look, I don't know what you argued about and I don't particularly care, but this is important, for both of you. Now, where is he?"

"Seriously," she protested. "I haven't seen him since…well it's been a long time. Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," he snarled, clearly unhappy. "It is perfectly natural for the Inu no Taishou to disappear at a time of the greatest instability in his reign."

"Now, I may be out of line here, but I vaguely recall the Regent yelling at him about that," she said as she picked up the fallen shard and tucked it away under her obi. She wasn't worried about him, and she would not was going to quit worrying about guys who neither wanted it nor cared._ But what if…_

"That was then," he said. "That was Uragiri. This is here and now. He knows how important it is to be seen by the people, and he always tells _me_ where he's going."

"Well," she gingerly stood, wobbling on her twisted ankle. She attempted to brush away the mud on her clothes but only seemed to succeed in smearing it even worse than before. This was her not worried, not caring. He was none of her concern. "I would like to help you, but he's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't ever want to see me again. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

She turned to limp away, when he stopped her. "You will have to come with me until I am able to find him."

"What?" _find him?_ _see him again?_ her heart started to beat painfully fast and she shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm through with you all thinking you can run roughshod over my life. Not again. I'm going home."

He tilted his head to the side and looked at her inquisitively. "Your home is a shrine is it not?"

"Yes," she answered cautiously.

He nodded. "Good, you should be safe there. I will escort you."

She sighed, _what is it with inu youkai and not listening?_ "Other than the usual, safe from what?"

"The clan," he gave her a gentle push to start her walking. "Uragiri and other outcasts."

"Why would they want to kill me?"

"They don't," he said. "They want to rape you; the council declared you the Ryouchi no Taigen."

"Okay, back up," her voice rose in pitch with panic. "They want to do what and I'm a what?"

He swore softly under his breath. "You really weren't told anything about your own people, were you?"

"Well, actually I…" although, now that she thought on it, Sesshoumaru might have had good reason not to tell Keigo the whole truth. "…no."

"You know how the clan is divided between the traditionalists and the progressionists, right? Well, in the Taishou's absence the traditionalists made a push for the Taishou's mate to be declared the Ryouchi no Taigen, that is, the living embodiment of the lands."

"But we, er, broke up, so doesn't that mean that I'm not his mate and not the…whatever."

His eyebrows furrowed in worried thought, "You…broke up?…he actually withdrew his protection from you."

"Er…" it belatedly crossed her mind that admitting such may not actually have been the brightest move she could've made. "I'm not sure? He was really mad… threatened to kill me? Well, Sort of threatened to…again."

He shook his head. "That's not enough, even if he had killed you it wouldn't be enough, your life is his to spare or take as he sees fit."

"So…he would have to…what?" she asked.

"He would have said that your life or death no longer held any meaning for him."

_Did he? Didn't he? _She frowned, she'd had his words in that ice cold voice echoing around her head all winter but now she couldn't remember anything. _What did he say? What did he _mean?

"Protection is not given or withdrawn lightly, Kagome." Keigo spoke softly. "Until he states otherwise or you withdraw from him, you are still his mate and the Ryouchi no Taigen."

"So, what does being the…Ryouchi no Taigen mean exactly?" she asked.

"The Taigen is the living embodiment of the Western Lands and the male that mates her, usually the Inu no Taishou, is the Lord of the Western Lands," he explained. "It's an old title that has fallen out of use since the last Taigen attempted to kill her lord and rule as Inu no Taishou and Ryouchi no Taigen."

"Let me get this straight…any guy that has sex with me is the Inu no Taishou?"

"No, they are the Lord of the Western Lands, the Inu no Taishou is a separate title," he explained. "Although both are often held by the same individual."

"Has anyone ever told you that you people are confusing?"

"I imagine it must seem so to someone unfamiliar with our traditions," he gave her a small half-smile.

She paused as a sudden thought occurred to her. "So, is that why you're here? To…mate with me?"

"No, no. I sought you out only hoping to find Sesshoumaru," he turned to her with a look of alarm and he bent his head to place a light kiss on her cheek. "Please, Kagome, believe that I would never usurp my lord in such a fashion."

She stared at him in wide eyed shock at the incongruity of his actions. He cringed. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just…"

"It's okay," then she remembered Sesshoumaru's first lecture on inu youkai customs. She stretched up onto the tips of her toes but he was still too tall for a proper kiss. The hollow of his neck was the highest point that she could reach so she licked his skin there tasting salt and sweat. It was horrible and awkward but it seemed to calm Keigo down. "I believe you. Do you know why these people are doing this?"

"Many reasons some fear that we are losing our traditions, some fear that we will become weak, and some care nothing for the clan only for their own personal ambitions," he said.

"Sounds like politics everywhere," she observed wryly. "What do we do?"

"First, we get you to a safe place. Preferably, before one of the ambitious ones hear that you and Sesshoumaru had a disagreement and get it in their heads to take advantage of the situation. Then I find Sesshoumaru," Keigo said, he offered her a weak smile. "That's usually not hard to do just follow the trail of bodies, right?"

She tried to smile, but was more worried about fending off the wannabe rapists. "And he can fix everything, right?"

"I hope so." It was not reassuring that Keigo looked worried too.

... ... ...

Kagome knew that something was wrong when they were still miles from the Shrine. It was hard to pin-point exactly what alerted her, there was no sound of any of the forest animals or birds moving through the trees, and the shadows seemed a little darker.

"Do you get the feeling that something is watching us?" she asked.

"I can't smell anything," he said, scenting the air. "But…you stay on course towards the shrine. I will circle around up-wind and see if I can find anything."

He was gone before she could object. "Yeah, you do that. Leave me here, by myself. Great."

She made her way through the eerily silent woods to find the rice fields outside of Edo equally empty. Oddly enough the rice seemed to perfectly fine, what had been planted was growing with no signs of massive battles, disease, scavengers or anything to indicate what had happened. She explored a few of the empty houses and found that, while the people left in a hurry leaving a scattering of items behind, they weren't forced to leave in such a hurry that they left behind food on the tables or any other signs of people fleeing in panic. Keigo met up with her outside of the shrine grounds.

"I don't like this place, Kagome," he said. "It's empty."

She nodded. "I don't know what could have happened to everyone."

"Nothing happened, there's nothing here," he snarled in frustration. "No smell of humans or animals. I can't even smell the things that are here and I don't like it."

"Maybe we'll find something at the shrine," she suggested and turned towards the stairs. Unlike before, the layers of wards surrounding the shrine had been shattered. She could feel the scattered pieces of it brushing against her mind like cobwebs.

"Do you smell that?" Keigo paused. "First thing I've scented since coming here."

She inhaled deeply and could just barely discern the faintest smell of incense. She took off, up the steep stairs, at a dead run swearing under her breath. Keigo gave a startled yelp and ran after her.

The shrine looked deserted as well, the two dog statues had been destroyed and their rubble scattered across the courtyard, and the place felt dead. An echoing darkness and there, in the shadows and out of the corner of her eye was the poisonous rot that was in the abandoned temple where Inu Yasha died and the Hall of Ancestors when Sesshoumaru had been attacked.

"Tsuuki?" she called out, straining her senses for the other woman's power. There, a flash of something from the main shrine. It was too brief to be identified definitively as Tsuuki but it was too light to be what ever was behind the pervasive darkness. She ran into the main shrine building.

Inside the smell of incense was stronger and the poison was thick in the air. No oil lamps were lit, so the only illumination came from the daylight streaming in from the open door. She could barely make out the form of a girl laying in the darkness. "Tsuuki!"

Kagome rushed forward and gathered the girl to her. She had been stripped and badly abused with bruises and deep claw marks across her shoulders and hips, her face was shattered beyond recognition. Kagome checked at Tsuuki's neck for a pulse and yelled over her shoulder. "Keigo, find the incense burners and put them out."

There was no pulse, damn it, she could never find the pulse there. She reached for Tsuuki's wrist and a flash of metal caught her eye. The unsheathed Tenseiga lay on the ground not far from Tsuuki's hand. _Sesshoumaru! Why would he be here? _

"Keigo, look…" she turned towards him, he had made his way to the alter. Kagome could only stare in slack jawed shock as Sesshoumaru casually backhanded the younger demon. Keigo flew across the room, stopping only when he impacted a pillar with a resounding crack of bone and wood. She was on her feet and moving before she realized what she was doing, moving between Sesshoumaru and Keigo.

"Kagome, No!" Keigo yelled. "Run!"

"What-?" she turned to face Keigo, he lay where he had fallen propping himself up with one arm, the other was stretched out before him reaching towards her. As she watched the shadows around him darkened and he screamed and writhed in agony. "Keigo!"

She started forward when pale arms encircled her. "You are so unfaithful, my Kagome. Would you leave me for this dog as well?"

"Sesshoumaru?" her voice trembled and cracked though she tried to sound brave. "Hey, you're the one who abandoned me remember?"

"I remember…" he pulled her closer in his embrace, one hand came up to hold her face as he rubbed his cheek against her hair and she could feel his breath on her ear. "I remember you shining in the darkness of my prison."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, straining her senses to see around her but the smell of the incense was making her dizzy and it was hard to focus.

"But then they took you away." All she could sense was Keigo's weakening youki his screaming had subsided but he was in bad shape. Everything else was lost to the darkness and the poison. Sesshoumaru's golden light was gone.

"You're not Sesshoumaru," she said. "What did you do? Did you kill him?"

"They took my Kagome away from me and left her alone, all alone," he was not even listening to her. She looked around for something she could use, to escape, to get him to shut up, anything, she wasn't picky.

"But now I am free…"The Tenseiga flared to life, gold and pale blue-white light shining briefly in the darkness before subsiding. It had cleansed itself before; maybe it could banish this thing from Sesshoumaru.

"And now these dogs will pay…" She waved at Keigo to catch his attention, her movements were limited by Sessh…the demon's hold pinning her arms to her sides. Keigo gave a short nod, almost imperceptible.

"And my Kagome will no longer be alone." She pointed at the Tenseiga and made a sharp stabbing gesture towards herself. Keigo's eyes widened and he shook his head. She gave a soft huff of frustration and repeated the motions.

"We will be together in the darkness neither of us ever alone." She saw Keigo start to lift himself from the ground and had time to grab the demon's hands, pulling him closer by wrapping his arms around her tighter, when she felt the searing pain in her chest. She felt Keigo place a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Sorry," he whispered and backed away. She gritted her teeth and tried to hold her scream back as the dark corruption flowed from Sesshoumaru through the blade and into her. Her powers blazed inside of her burning away the poison. When it touched the Tenseiga the blade flared fully to life glowing with a visible light.

She gasped and arched her back, instinctively trying to pull away as the Tenseiga drew on her powers and funneled them into Sesshoumaru. She could see his golden youki now, faint but growing stronger. She could hear him sniff delicately, his nose buried in her hair behind her ear. "Kagome?"

"Sesshoumaru?" He took a shuddering breath and gently nuzzled her neck with whispered apologies. His right hand grasped the hilt of the Tenseiga and he _pushed_ the blade deeper into them both until the guard slammed against her skin. He grunted in pain and she screamed; they both fell to their knees.

The re-forged Tenseiga acted a conduit between them, tempering their powers and blending them together so they strengthened each other, working together to cleanse the poison rather than against each other. She had no concept of how long they knelt there on the ground. Everything was focused on the ebb and flow of their power through their bodies until eventually it ran clear of the dark rot.

She leaned back resting her head against his shoulder. It was almost nice the way he cradled her against him with his head bowed over her shoulder pressing soft kisses and licks against her neck. She let her eyes fall closed, lulled by the soothing motions of his hands and mouth. The brief tensing of his muscles was the only warning that she had when he wrenched the Tenseiga out of them. He held her close as she screamed and swore.

Gradually, she calmed down again as he gently kissed and licked her neck, and he ran his hands soothingly up and down her arms, occasionally wandering over other parts of her body. She could feel their mixed powers still inside of her, only without the sword they were no longer forced into balance. She whimpered softly at the realization of what that meant. Then her miko powers and the youki left by the Tenseiga clashed together each trying to burn out the other in soul-searing agony that had her straining against Sesshoumaru's hold. Mercifully, she blacked out.

... ... ...

She did not want to wake up. She was secure in the warm darkness lulled by the rise and fall of crashing waves. But reality intruded, whether she willed it to or not. Her warm cocoon resolved into gentle arms holding her close to a warm body. The rumbling waves were voices. Low, male and tense with emotion.

"They overstepped their bounds," The closer voice was emphasized by a low rumbling she could feel in her bones as she lay pressed against the speakers chest.

"You were gone, Taishou," the other voice said. "A decision had to be reached."

"And this was a matter of such urgency that it had to be decided then and there?" she remembered that she should know that voice… ice… gold… _Sesshoumaru._ "They should have waited."

"Something had to be done. The Traditionalists were almost foaming at the mouth over your choice of mate," the other voice, _Keigo,_ said. "Maybe if you hadn't taken off for Ancestors' only know what stupid errand this time, which I am still waiting for an explanation by the way. Maybe if you were where you were supposed to be you could have done something else to placate them."

Still half asleep Kagome flinched back from the rising anger in Keigo's voice. Sesshoumaru shifted slightly, his hands gently soothing away her distress as she began to focus on their words and voices. "Calm yourself, Keigo. She's waking."

"Wha's go'n'n?" she swallowed and tried again. "What's going on?"

"Keigo was just explaining what has been happening in my absence," Sesshoumaru told her. She cautiously opened her eyes, she couldn't have been out that long, it was still midday and they hadn't gone far, just out to the main courtyard of the Sunset Shrine.

"You're angry," she observed looking up at him, trying to divine what he was thinking behind those cold eyes.

He stilled his hands. "Yes."

"Not at me?"

He was silent for a long time before finally responding. "You need to rest now, Kagome."

"Do not," she struggled to sit up but he wouldn't let her push away from him. "I'm fine,"

"No, you are not fine. The poison exhausted you."

She paused to examine herself, her powers were weakened significantly but she was physically fine. And it wasn't like she could use them until the new moon again anyways. She grumbled, "Did not. It was your-"

He pressed a clawed finger to her lips. "Be still."

She let of a huff of annoyance but settled down.

"Keigo, do you have anything _else_ to report?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"I've been studying the writing from the Hall's floor and recent events lead me to believe that I may have…misinterpreted some of the words," he said.

"Misinterpreted, how?"

"I think the author may have meant for some of the words to be names or representations and not to be interpreted literally," Keigo said when Sesshoumaru remained silent he continued on hesitantly. "The enemy has powers apparently relating to the darkness, perhaps that is how he identifies himself and he wants something returned. I have some ideas but would prefer to study the matter further, least speculation unduly distress the Taigen."

She frowned at him, _Taigen, why does that sound familiar?_

"Perhaps that would be for the best," Sesshoumaru agreed and gently combed back the hair from her face. She frowned, those little liberties he kept taking, especially when he was supposed to be…. Now she remembered. Taigen, Ryouchi no Taigen, which ever inu youkai had her, and _had_ her, had the Western Lands. That was the whole reason they were in this mess looking for Sesshoumaru in the first place. She slammed her open palm against his shoulder.

"What, the fuck, is up with this shit?" she swore at him, he looked down at her in surprise. "You could have told them the truth, told them what I did." He started growling softly but she continued on, ignoring him. "We aren't mates, you never touched me. And I can't be the Taigen, I'm not even-"

He slapped his hand over her mouth, claws digging into her skin. His low growl escalated to a full out snarl. Keigo politely excused himself and walked out of her line of vision, and presumably out of earshot. She'd be concerned but it wasn't as if he'd do anything to protect her if, when Sesshoumaru got it in to his head to actually kill her.

"This Sesshoumaru will not be made a fool of," he snarled. "You will not speak of your deception to anyone, not within the clan and not without. Is this clear?"

_Figures, bruised male ego. _She nodded, and restrained the desire to roll her eyes. He released her jaw and licked the blood off of his claws, watching her thoughtfully.

"Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but why haven't you just killed me? It would just solve so many problems." _Right, give him ideas. Idiot._

"I had thought…but perhaps this way is better," he leaned in and bit her hard on the neck, pinching the skin between his teeth. She yelped and tried to pull away but he held her too tightly. "You are still mine."

_And here I used to think that line was so romantic, s_he grimaced _It's just plain scary._

"After a time, perhaps I will allow you the release of death," he gently licked the blood from the claw marks on her face. She flinched back but he grabbed her roughly by her hair and held her head still.

"Stop it!" she cried out. "Let me go!"

"You wish to withdraw from my protection?" he pressed his lips against the pulse at her throat and she could feel the sharp graze of fangs against her skin.

"Yes!" _No! _she could feel tears prick at the corners of her eyes. _I don't know! _"Please, let me go."

"Do you know what will happen if I do? Someone will find you, you cannot remain in hiding forever. They will find you, and I will lose my title and lose my lands. And you," his voice was empty and emotionless; he could have been discussing the weather or reading from the phone directory, not pronouncing her utter doom. "You will be very lucky to end up like your little friend. Dead; from their attentions."

"Tsuuki?" her breath caught in her throat. She struggled to stand, this time he released her. She ran into the main shrine building. The young miko's broken body lay where they had left her. Kagome's shaking legs collapsed out from under her but Sesshoumaru caught her up before she hit the ground. He forcibly dragged her from the building. When he set her down she turned on him slapping and scratching ineffectually. "You did that to her! You killed her you son of a bitch, bring her back!"

"No, Kagome," he caught her hands easily and held her, keeping her from lashing out, as she struggled and cried. "No. Neither did I do that to her nor will I bring her back."

"Please, bring her back," she begged. "She doesn't deserve to die like that."

"No one deserves to live like that," he said, voice cold and distant. "Not after what was done to her."

"You knew," she whispered harshly. "You knew what was happening when he…"

"No… I do _not _know what he did. Not everything," he corrected her, his lip curled in disgust as he spoke. "I only caught brief glimpses when the hold over me wavered, not enough to fight him but sometimes enough to see."

"Why?" she asked. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"

Sesshoumaru was silent for a long time before speaking. "She was supposed to be you."

"No. Oh, no, no, no. It's my fault," she whispered as the words sank in, folding down in on herself. "My fault, my fault. All my fault."

He stared down at her, his expression was blank but his gold eyes were dark with emotion. His hand would start to reach out before being snatched back. Finally he reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Kagome, no this is not your fault."

"Yes, it is," she said. "If it weren't for me she wouldn't even have been here. She'd have been down in the village proper."

He frowned. "Explain."

"The Shikon no Miko can't just disappear," she said. "There are too many demons who want the shards and who will do anything to find them, they'd never stop looking until they found me. So, we gave them what they thought they were looking for."

"Tsuuki and this shrine?"

"Yes, they'd see a powerful priestess and not look too hard for the real one."

"Clever,"

She nodded and gave a tremulous smile, "Shippou was always the best when it came to hiding and illusions. I don't think I would have lasted as long as I had without his help."

"Shippou, the kitsune?" he asked.

She nodded. And closed her eyes at the pain and emotional turmoil the memories brought to the surface.

"I see," he said, she started when he licked at the tear tracks under her eyes. "Then let the woman die in peace, she did her duty with honor. Let another take her place."

"No!" she shook her head. "Not if, that…"

"Kagome," his voice was harsh, commanding. "The reasons are still valid and it will not do to have your enemies sniffing around the den for you. Let them continue to throw themselves at a false prize. It will leave us free to deal with the real threats."

"The real threats?"

"Yes," he said. "This being that controls the darkness, for one."

She shivered, "Are we sure it's really gone this time?"

"The Tenseiga cleaned my jaki of its presence, but I doubt that this will be our last encounter… it seems to have formed an attachment to you," he observed softly. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage, I will have to study my memories of it more closely."

"Sesshoumaru," she started hesitantly "Why were you here at all?"

He straightened and pulled away from her slightly. "I came to retrieve the Tetsusaiga. But since it appears that the council has taken some matters into their own hands, it may not be necessary."

"The council…." she frowned at him, trying to understand what he was saying, but there was just too much she didn't know about the inu youkai to even start making sense of that statement. "What are we going to do? Can't you just say that I'm not your mate or not the Ryouchi no Taigen or something?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't work that way."

"Why not? Some council just up and says I'm this thing and I am. So, why can't you just say, 'sorry, they messed up' or get them to retract it or something? You're the Inu no Taishou, doesn't that count for something?"

"It counts for a great deal but when the council makes a decree it is weighted with all of our traditions and millennia of knowledge and experience," he said. "Compared to that the Inu no Taishou counts for very little."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Simple," he smiled down at her, bright and beautiful like the sun shining through the parting clouds after a storm. "I will tear apart, limb from limb, any bastard who even thinks to touch you. The Western Lands are mine and no one will take them away from me."

She closed her eyes and turned away, hoping to hide the pain she felt from him.


	7. Chapter 7

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Seven

Sesshoumaru allowed Kagome to stay at the shrine long enough to bury Tsuuki. He even helped her find some uncontaminated incense for the grave. Keigo had gone ahead to the den to prepare for their return and he was waiting for them at the den's entrance.

"Taishou, Taigen," he bowed respectfully. "The bath house is available for you and clean clothing has been laid out."

"Good," Sesshoumaru nodded without breaking stride. Not knowing what else to do Kagome followed silently. "And have Ryoushi waiting for us in my office."

Keigo faltered, "Ryoushi, Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes," Sesshoumaru growled. "I won't have him thinking that he can continue to manipulate clan and council."

Keigo muttered softly under his breath. "You didn't seem to mind when he kept Uragiri off your throne."

Sesshoumaru turned on him with a snarl. Keigo looked briefly startled at Sesshoumaru's reaction. He bowed deeply and when Sesshoumaru's growls subsided, straightened and brushed a light kiss against Sesshoumaru's jaw. Kagome had to fight to keep a neutral expression on her face. It had been one thing to learn about such things from Sesshoumaru, and even to put them into practice. But to watch them it was hard not to feel a surge of jealousy as Sesshoumaru grudgingly accepted Keigo's apology.

"My apologies, Taishou," Keigo murmured once again addressing Sesshoumaru formally.

They were silent the rest of the way to the bath house when Sesshoumaru paused at the entrance to speak. "Can you honestly tell me that this doesn't have Ryoushi's scent all over it?"

Keigo hedged uncomfortably, "Well, it was something I would have expected of your father…"

Sesshoumaru growled.

"But I've looked," Keigo said. "There is nothing directly linking Ryoushi to either the Traditionalists or the council's decision; outside of his own vote, of course."

"That alone would sway some members. I will speak with him," Sesshoumaru said and entered the bath house after gesturing for her to follow. The baths were empty, allowing them some measure of privacy. Sesshoumaru had insisted that she maintain her established "persona" and also on a semblance of affection in public. She was still uncertain whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but "public" seemed to be everywhere.

Kagome blushed lightly as he began undressing without comment. Hesitantly, she followed his lead, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He claimed that they only needed to be careful when there was a significant risk of their discussion being overheard, but of course with her "inferior senses" it was left up to him to determine when and where such discussion was appropriate.

Which, simply put, was never. They finished quickly, only washing off the grime from their recent travels. The clothing laid out for them was rich and not overly formal. Sesshoumaru's full length kimono simply had bands of deep blue across the shoulders, and hers had a slightly more elaborate design of a flowering vine climbing up to her shoulders.

She had barely picked up the obi when he silently took it from her and turned her away from him with his claws digging into her elbow to guide her movements. He was obviously still angry at her, the small touches and gestures suddenly acquired the sharp scrape of claws or teeth, but he would not allow her the opportunity to explain. Not that she could explain it, not even to herself. In retrospect, she should have told him right away, he had been their ally in Naraku's defeat. Perhaps he would have understood, perhaps he would have helped, but now she'd never know.

"You will do nothing to embarrass this Sesshoumaru," he spoke softly, his voice a low rumble in her ear that sent shivers down her spine. "You will not speak unless spoken to; you will not mention our disagreement. Do you understand?"

She nodded. That was what he referred to the entire mess, her lies, his anger, their "disagreement." She whispered. "I'm sorry."

He nipped her ear sharply, a reminder not to speak of it. The pain and surprise of it caused her to jump. "Come."

She followed him through the halls to his office. There was an old man waiting patiently for them. His hair may once have been silver but was heavily streaked with a lack-luster white, and his face was well weathered with crows-feet surrounding cloudy yellow eyes. He smiled as they entered and there was something in the open expression that reminded her of Inu Yasha but she couldn't explain why. "Sesshoumaru, you grow more like your father every time I see you."

Sesshoumaru's back stiffened at the comment.

"Hard to believe such a staunch Traditionalist would be so… progressive." The old inu chuckled warmly "Ah, but where are my manners?"

He stood and embraced Sesshoumaru kissing him warmly on the cheek. Sesshoumaru was still for a moment before returning the gesture. "Ryoushi…" Sesshoumaru began, the older inu youkai frowned at him and Sesshoumaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Grandfather…"

"So this is the young Taigen?" Ryoushi turned to examine her closely, "Hmph, she's younger then I expected… but I'm sure that she must be an exceptional female."

Kagome glanced nervously between the two youkai uncertain how she should react when Ryoushi approached her. He clasped her hands in his and bowed deeply over them. Almost reflexively her fingers curled around his and she bowed slightly in return. He smiled warmly and kissed her on the cheek and waited patiently for her to return the gesture before turning back to Sesshoumaru.

"She's a good pup," He said. "She'll make a good Taigen."

"You know this from one meeting?" Sesshoumaru asked dryly.

"I'm no fool, pup." He admonished gently. "I may be too old for the games you younglings like to play but I can see where things are headed… and I daresay your father saw it as well. Question is what are you going to do about it?"

"What I do Grandfather, in for me alone to decide," Sesshoumaru said coldly.

"Ryoushi's eyes softened "You know the council is always here to advise you."

"Advice from you is always welcome," Sesshoumaru spoke softly, and Kagome could still hear the soft growl of irritation in his undertones. "It would be appreciated more if the council would remember that."

"We only act for the good of the clan."

"Undermining the Inu no Taishou's authority is for the good of the clan?"

"That wasn't our intent."

"That was the effect, none-the-less." Sesshoumaru snarled. "Incidentally, you put the Taigen at considerable risk."

Ryoushi was still for a moment before bowing his head. "And for that we… I, apologize. If we'd had any indication that she had not been appropriately attended…"

Sesshoumaru snarled at the reproach in his grandfather's voice. "My behavior regarding my mate is not open for debate."

"Perhaps it should be," Ryoushi snarled back, and Kagome tried to shrink away from them without moving or drawing attention to herself least they remember that she was still there and change the subject. "Is that how your father raised you? To mate some young bitch barely past her first heat and leave her come the end of Season?"

"There were extenuating circumstances," Sesshoumaru said through clenched teeth. "Perhaps if…"

"There had damn well better be," Ryoushi said, voice rising in volume with his anger. "And it had damn well better be good. Because I can't honestly think of any…"

"She's barren." Sesshoumaru cut in. His voice was soft and it echoed in the sudden silence.

"What?" Both Ryoushi and Kagome asked in shocked disbelief. He recovered from his surprise first. "Are you sure?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a hard look before replying. "Kagome will never bear my child."

"I… see…" Ryoushi sat back with a thoughtful look on his face, after a moment of silent thought he bowed deeply, his forehead nearly touching the floor where he knelt. "Taishou, Taigen. This Ryoushi is greatly grieved by this sorrow that he has caused to you. He can only beg for your forgiveness."

"I will only ask for one thing, Ryoushi," he tensed at Sesshoumaru's words. "You will see to it that the council of elders remains out of my affairs."

Ryoushi looked up with a troubled from on his face. "If, for the good of the clan, I must…"

"Then I expect you to act for the good of the clan, but I will not be the council's puppet." Sesshoumaru's voice softened. "Grandfather, this is what you and father trained me for… have you no faith in your teachings?"

"No, Sesshoumaru. I could never doubt you." Ryoushi stood and pulled Sesshoumaru into a rough embrace. "You're a contrary and arrogant pup but you're a good boy and your father would be proud of you. I will keep the others off of your game-trails."

"Thank you, Grandfather." Sesshoumaru said softly.

Ryoushi turned to Kagome and embraced her as well, gracing her with a dry kiss on her cheek. Kagome's hands came up to rest awkwardly on his arms and she leaned forward to brush her cheek against his, all the while glancing towards Sesshoumaru, looking for…approval, guidance, something, anything other then this cold, blank stare. Ryoushi stepped away and bowed briefly to them both. "I am sure that you two have much work to do. If it acceptable to you, Taishou, Taigen, perhaps we could meet again… as family?"

The silence stretched on and on as the two demons stared at each other. She could only wonder at Sesshoumaru's hesitation but it seemed that he had reached the limits of what closeness he was willing to concede to his grandfather. She would've just let them be but she couldn't bear the look of dwindling hope in the old man's eyes. She reached forward and clasped Ryoushi's hand warmly. "We would like that…Grandfather."

Ryoushi glanced between the two of them and when Sesshoumaru nodded, a sharp brief jerk of the head, Ryoushi smiled. His smile was radiant and it lit up his face like the sun on a summer's day and, dear gods, he looked so much like Inu Yasha that it hurt. Kagome ruthlessly stamped down on the upwelling of tears. She was sure Ryoushi didn't notice anything but Sesshoumaru gave her an odd look as the older demon left, sliding the door shut silently behind him. Sesshoumaru was already busying himself by flipping through the scrolls and papers piled on his desk. She watched him all the while growing increasingly agitated. She fidgeted and twisted her hair around her fingers until she couldn't stand the silence anymore. It couldn't have been more then a few minutes after Ryoushi had left when she burst out. "Why did you say that?"

Sesshoumaru paused, brush poised over an open scroll. He glanced up at her, obviously irritated by the interruption. "And what, precisely, did this Sesshoumaru say?"

"That I was barren. That I would never bear your children." She stammered slightly and blushed. "Not that I would want to, I'm still too…"too what? Too young? In a place where girls her age were on their second pregnancy. It was another yawning chasm between her and her own people in this time. Whenever she had to approach a human village she hid behind her duty like a shield from the condemning stares that all but said she was a failure and an outcast.

"Barren or not, I'll not touch you," his quiet answer was short and sharp. She almost missed it, lost as she was in her own musings. When the meaning sank in she blushed hotly. Didn't seem to bother him last fall.

"Why not?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

He gave her that superior look of his that always made her feel about five years old. "For one thing if anyone cared to scrutinize the pup certain…inconsistencies would be found."

"Inconsistencies? What inconsistencies?" She shook her head. "Wait. No. Back up. That's not even the point. The point is, 'why does it even matter?'"

Sesshoumaru sighed and released the scroll he had been holding open. He placed the brush down in its tray and stood gracefully. "Come and walk with me a moment and I will try to explain."

He led her out into the atrium. In late spring it was a riot of green growing things and water sang over smooth river stones. "The clan is centered around a family. Specifically, a single mated pair."

"The Inu no Taishou and the Ryouchi no Taigen," Kagome said, with an increasingly sinking feeling in her gut.

"Yes," he looked at her briefly before turning away.

"But there's more to it, isn't there?"

"Yes," He reached out to touch one of the plants lining the small garden path, the leafy fronds slid through his dexterous fingers. "The Taigen is more then a symbolic link to the lands, she is the Western Lands. If she is barren, the lands will wither and die."

"But that's just a superstition right?" Asks the girl who battles demons and performs exorcisms on a regular basis. She grimaced at her own skepticism, but what he was saying sounded so…primitive.

"No, it is very real." He said and murmured softly, almost to himself. "The investment ceremonies have already taken place. The council must have gotten their hands on your blood in order to perform the rites in absentia."

"My blood?" Kagome asked. "What did they need my blood for?"

"Blood is used to form the bond between the Taigen and the land. Strengths are shared…and weaknesses." Sesshoumaru turned to look at her, and intensity in his gaze that she had rarely seen before. "Can't you feel it? The lands stretching out around you?"

"No, I don't…feel…" She frowned and shook her head. There was that time, about two weeks before Keigo found her, she fell ill, chilled to the bone, nothing kept her warm for long and her second sight had gone haywire. It had felt like her mind had been pulled apart and stretched open. She had managed to somehow pull everything back and wall off the new sensations, apparently with such success that she had forgotten the strange illness entirely, but then with all that had happened between then and now who could blame her?

"Yes, you do." Sesshoumaru stepped close and bowed down to speak softly into her ear. She shivered at his closeness and the smell of him, almost undetectable but musky and undeniably male, made her dizzy. "You can feel the lands all around you. Feel the sun like a lover's touch and the wind and rain dance along you skin."

"Yes." She shivered at the soft seduction in his voice, could feel the sensations that she had been willfully ignoring until he dragged them out into the open. Sesshoumaru trailed his hand lightly up her arm under the kimono's sleeve, his claws scraping lightly along the soft skin of her inner forearm. Then, without warning though she should have expected it really, he dug his fingers painfully into her elbow and pulled her off balance. She cried out and fell against him.

"And now you are my only connection to my lands," he growled. "I will be your lord, as I must, and none will touch you, but that is all. I will not fuck my brother's betraying whore."

She could only gape at his crudities. There was something undeniably wrong about such harsh language spoken from so refined and elegant a being. By the time she caught her breath he was turning away from her. "Sesshoumaru, please listen, I didn't…"

"Did you lie to me then?" he asked sharply, "Or do you still wish to maintain that you told the truth save for one minor ommitence."

"I've told you the truth," Kagome stamped her foot in vehemence.

"Then be silent," he said coldly. "This Sesshoumaru wished to hear no more truths from you."

"Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes from the derisive tone of his voice. Pain turned to anger and she kicked at the gravel pathway sending out a spray of small stones. "Stupid jerk!"

She sad down heavily on a nearby bench. She hunched over, curling in on herself. She was not crying, and she was not crying because of him. Those were not her tears running down her face or staining her kimono. Why couldn't it be raining today?

Kagome's breathing gradually returned to normal and she leaned back, tilting her head back to let the warm sun dry her face and ease away the tension headache from crying…not-crying. She gazed up at the trees above her watching the wind play through the lush foliage and frowned. He never answered her first question, and it still didn't make any sense. She wasn't barren. If what Sesshoumaru said was true then anyone could look around them and see that he was lying. Ryoushi had to have known that it was a lie but he went along with it, even apologized. She frowned and turned it over in her head. It all meant something she was sure, something other then what appeared on the surface, but there was so much unspoken that she didn't even know where to begin deciphering it all.

"Taigen?" Keigo called softly, startling her out of her reverie. "Kagome?"

"Yes?" she sat up and scrubbed at her face, her voice was thick and grated harshly in her throat. "What is it?" Keigo materialized at her side with a roll of bandages in one hand. "Sesshoumaru said you had been injured?"

She blinked up at him in confusion before looking down to take stock of herself, she didn't think she had been injured but her kimono sleeve was stained bright red and as she watched the edge slowly expanded_. Odd, it doesn't really hurt... _Almost as if the thought was a catalyst the nerve endings in her arm exploded with pain. She managed to bite back most of the scream, but a soft whine escaped her throat.

Without words Keigo knelt before her and peeled back the heavy blood soaked cloth. He paused only briefly when the first of the sutras were revealed on her arm. At her elbow she could see the deep gouges created by Sesshoumaru's claws. She could see dark muscle among the bright red and could only watch in morbid fascination as Keigo pinched the wounds closed and bound them tight. She spoke softly feeling oddly disjointed, "I think those need stitches."

"You'll be fine." He said, running a comforting hand through her hair from her temple, behind her ear, and down her back. When he finished wrapping her elbow he didn't release her arm, instead his fingers traced over the writing with an expression of growing horror on his face. She pulled away sharply and wrapped her arm in the bloody sleeve. "Don't."

Keigo cringed at the sharp anger in her voice. She would bet that if he had been in his true form his ears would be laid back and his tail tucked between his legs. He leaned forward and nipped gently at the corner of her mouth, asking for forgiveness. She pulled back and stared at him as he debased himself further by exposing his throat to her.

"Why are you doing this?" She cried out, frustrated and tired of the whole ordeal. "I am not stronger then you and you know it."

Keigo seemed to be genuinely baffled by her outburst. He was silent for a long time before answering. "Dominance is not determined by strength alone. I am subordinate to you because I wish to be. You are my Lord's Lady and the Taigen of my clan. It is an honor to be your strength should you need it."

She closed her eyes, the sincerity was almost painful. Especially when paired with the stabbing guilt of wondering what half-truths he believed and if he would hate her as well when the truth finally came to light. She jumped when he brushed against her cheek, he breath warm on her ear.

"Forgive me," he whispered. "I didn't mean to offend you."

She sighed and gave in, pressing her mouth to his exposed throat. Like before he tasted of salt and sweat, and she could feel his pulse beating strong and steady under her teeth. Pulling back slightly, she whispered, her lips brushing against his skin as she spoke. "You did nothing wrong."

He gently rubbed his cheek against her temple and wrapped her arms around her. A comforting and intimate gesture that she knew intellectually had nothing to do with sex or love, but her stomach twisted with the guilt of betrayal all the same. Who was that she was betraying she didn't know. Inu Yasha was dead and Sesshoumaru had made it abundantly clear what he thought of her. She pulled away from Keigo's embrace, not wanting to leave but not wanting to stay either.

"Excuse me, please. I'm not feeling well. It's been a long day and I need to rest." She didn't wait for a response but instead fled the moment the words left her mouth, certain that she did not care for the thoughtful expression on Keigo's face. That look only seemed to spell trouble for her lately and she was afraid to find out what strange twists of logic was going through his head.


	8. Chapter 8

Hidden In Plain Sight

Chapter Eight

Sleep that afternoon came in fits and starts. At dusk she was surprised to find her dinner brought to her by Ryoushi, not Sesshoumaru. He smiled warmly at her and settled the tray down on the low table that had replaced the little desk in her absence. She lifted the covers on the dishes and was delighted to find miso soup and dumplings. "It smells wonderful."

"Ah, good." He said settling down across from her. "Keigo told me of your…dietary requirements, and the dishes came highly recommended in town."

"Keigo told you? Usually Sesshoumaru brings me dinner."

Ryoushi's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. "Does he really?"

"Yes is that really so strange?" She had thought it downright bizarre but expected other inu youkai to get it.

"It is part of our courtship traditions. The male brings meals to the female to prove that he can provide for her and their pups."

She stared at him in wide-eyed shock, Sesshoumaru, courting her? No wonder he had been so sensitive about getting her food and making sure that it was acceptable. She had thought the whole "mates" thing was only for her own protection though… "You know we are mates, why is that so unusual?"

He shifted uncomfortably and refused to look at her. "I see… Occasionally when a young bitch is in her first season, but her father is too weak to protect her from would-be suitors he may approach a more dominant inu to act as a mate until a suitable match has been found. They separate then, claiming that the union was 'barren' and they were unable to produce viable offspring, when in actuality they never truly mated."

She frowned and tried to stifle the inexplicable hurt feelings. Did he care? Didn't he? To hide the confusion that threatened to overwhelm her she busied herself with the tray of food.

"I saw some of how he treated you," Ryoushi continued. "And I was truly surprised that his claim was in name only. But if he were actually courting you… well, that's very serious business. What game is that pup playing at?"

"I wish I knew," she said miserably.

"Well, enough of that," He said cheerfully and clapped his hands and made her jump. "I hope you won't find my intrusion presumptuous. I had gathered that my grandson would be unable to join you this evening and had taken it upon myself to take his place."

"Oh, no, no. It's no trouble," Kagome was unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed, both seemed like equally treacherous emotional ground. Then she remembered something that Sesshoumaru told her once, ages ago it seemed. "I thought Sesshoumaru was the only one allowed in my room."

"Pfft, I am far too old to play bedroom games with other demons' mates." She blushed and he grinned at her, full of mischief and good humor. "But it does this old heart good to hear a pretty young bitch think otherwise."

"I didn't mean…" she blushed harder and stammered but couldn't think of any way out the verbal quicksand she found herself in. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply anything I just… don't know how things are around here. Sesshoumaru and Keigo have been trying to teach me but…"

"And doing such a splendid job I see," he said sarcastically. "But, it's not their fault, it's a very demanding task and on top of keeping the clan and managing the Western Lands, well, it's no wonder the pups have fallen a little short of the mark. Perhaps I can help you here; I have significantly more free time, even with managing the council. And if you may," here he sounded a little uncomfortable. "Perhaps, put in a good word for me with my grandson."

She almost choked on her mouthful of rice in surprise. Kagome swallowed cautiously and shook her head. "I don't think he'd listen. He's a little mad at me at the moment."

"Well, perhaps when…"

She shook her head, "Grandfather that was my polite way of saying he's giving me the silent treatment and throws a violent fit when I'm even in the vicinity of an apology."

Ryoushi chuckled softly. "Yes, he does like his grudges, doesn't he?"

She sipped delicately from the bowl of soup. "What's he mad at you for?"

"You would do better to ask what hasn't made him angry." The older youkai sighed, regret etched in his weathered features. "I'm afraid that I can do no right in his eyes, not since his father died."

"Hmm. What was he like?"

"My son?" She nodded; she'd always wondered what Sesshoumaru's and Inu Yasha's father was like, Inu Yasha didn't remember him and Sesshoumaru generally avoided the subject. Ryoushi smiled sadly. "He was an honorable and loving youkai. Curious to a fault, as a pup he was into everything. Completely incorrigible, you would have like him, I'm sure. It was surprising to everyone that he made such a good Inu no Taishou. He was good for the clan but I can't say that the responsibility was good for him."

"Why?" She asked around a mouthful of dumpling.

"His mate's death was very hard on him. He truly loved her and I think he would have followed her to hell if he hadn't such a strong sense of duty and responsibility. And Sesshoumaru was so young, barely a century old and just weaned. The poor pup can't even remember her. A tragedy what happened, she was one of the Taigen's Handmaidens."

"She was what?" Kagome asked baffled. "What happened to her?"

Ryoushi looked up in surprise. "You mean, you don't know? No, of course you wouldn't, it's not something people like to talk about. Our clan's last Taigen was a greedy, viscous bitch. She planned a coup, some said she wanted to be the Inu no Taishou herself, others said that she had a lover waiting in the wings, one more pliable then her current lord. Either way her Lord caught wind of the plan and he killed her. He refused to claim another mate and the council declared the second most dominant female to be Taigen. He killed her as well. He went mad, killed every breeding female in the clan. Sesshoumaru's mother was one of them, and they are sometimes referred to as the Taigen's Handmaidens."

"Why didn't anyone stop him?"

"No one could. He reached his throne by making sure every inu in the clan was weak and cowed by him. Anyone who had posed a possible threat had been killed or run off centuries before." He shook his head sadly. "It was terrible, and he didn't stop there, he continued and attacked the female pups who hadn't even entered their first season yet. That's when my son woke from his grief; he just stood up and, killed the old Taishou. No warning, no challenge, nothing. He did a commendable job leading our clan back from the brink of extinction. We had many enemies at the time, hungry for Inu blood. But my son always saw it as a failure. He blamed himself for not acting sooner. And it was later during the mess caused by Sounga that he learned of Toutousai and commissioned the twin swords to be forged. But by then it was too late for the Tenseiga to save his mate or the other Handmaidens."

"That's so terrible I feel so sorry for him, for all of them." Kagome said softly.

Ryoushi patted her hand gently. "I believe that the demands of being the Inu no Taishou and Lord of the Western Lands kept him occupied, kept the grief from overwhelming him again, but the work was hard and the pressures terrible for someone as unprepared as he was. It's no wonder that he turned to Izayoi in the end."

"Izayoi? Inu Yasha's mother?"

"Yes, I believe he encountered her on one of his brief escapes from the den, a practice Sesshoumaru seems to have inherited, and when ever the pressures became to stressful my son would escape and seek out her company where he could just be some young warrior courting a beautiful princess. Of course, it wasn't to last. Izayoi became pregnant and her family finally learned of the nature of her suitor. They hid her away, and intended to kill the baby and marry the girl off quietly. My son was livid when he learned of her family's treachery. Unfortunately there were troubles of our own here at home and he saved her but died of his wounds."

She nodded her head absently as she listened intently.

"You know this tale?"

"Parts of it," she admitted. "And I know that Sesshoumaru was insanely jealous of Inu Yasha for receiving the Tetsusaiga."

"Hm, yes. I fear that fault lies with us, my son and myself. We were always pushing the boy, to be stronger, smarter, better. Always, always pushing the pup. We had planned for him to be the perfect Inu no Taishou, knowing the things that his father had struggled with, how to lead, how to rule. But Sesshoumaru became obsessed with the trappings of his father's powers. Of the swords, and the conquest, and the bloody battles, he completely missed the point of it all, of the reason behind everything his father did." Ryoushi sighed and smiled sadly. "In retrospect I don't see how we could have expected any different. That was all that we had ever taught him. At the last, my son tried to instill the importance of having something, someone to protect. But I fear that the lecture came a little too late to change a lifetime of hard lessons. We were disappointed in him and he knew it. He just couldn't fathom why. Sesshoumaru was such a good pup; he did everything we asked him to and more. It just wasn't what we thought we wanted."

"You're wrong," she said vehemently, practically jumping at the words, and Ryoushi blinked at her in surprise. "He did, maybe not the way that you wanted, but he did. I know he did or I would have been dead several times over. And what about Rin?"

"Rin?"

"You know, little human girl, he kept her with him for the longest time and very fiercely protected her against, well, everything. Now she stays in a house in town with Jaken."

"Jaken?"

"Yep, annoying little sycophant kappa."

Ryoushi shook his head. "I had no idea."

"Well, what did you think he'd been doing the past two, no three years now?"

"The last I had heard he was looking for his father's remains."

"Boy, are you out of the loop. Found those a while back. Inu Yasha got the Tetsusaiga and cut Sesshoumaru's arm off…you hadn't heard any of this?" She asked incredulously, the results of that particular fight had to be rather hard to miss.

Ryoushi shook his head, "I heard that the pups were fighting again. But I thought that it was just…"

"Just what?" she prompted, curious.

"Inu Yasha was always fighting with Sesshoumaru, provoking him. Especially after Izayoi died. Inu Yasha blamed Sesshoumaru for his mother's death and their fights became terrible, escalating beyond all control. Uragiri had to banish Inu Yasha from the den and it was all I could do to keep him from calling a hunt."

"Did he do it?" She asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer. When she first met Sesshoumaru she would have had little trouble believing the accusation, but now, she liked to think that she knew him better.

"Pardon?"

"Did Sesshoumaru kill Inu Yasha's mother?"

"Not really, but in a sense I suppose, yes he did. But please, it's not what you think." He said quickly seeing her back stiffen in shock and outrage. "Please, understand that none of us knew very much about humans at the time, and it didn't seem terribly strange that Izayoi never seemed to age or change, even after a century or more of life.

"Izayoi tried to kill herself. No, she did kill herself, repeatedly. Every night she would lay Inu Yasha down to sleep, go to her room and kill herself. She had done everything, poisons, cutting, hanging, drowning, it was terrible and none of us had any idea this was going on. We were too busy with other matters I suppose, trying to keep the clan and the Western Lands from collapsing under our enemies. But that doesn't excuse our neglect. I don't know how, Sesshoumaru was reluctant to speak of the matter, but somehow he knew and every morning he would enter before Inu Yasha awoke and revived her."

"Why?" She asked, horrified by the woman's actions. She had always thought of her as a loving mother who would do anything for her son, but perhaps that view was too strongly influenced by the Nothing Woman. She actually knew little more of Inu Yasha's mother then she did of his father.

"Truthfully, I don't know, I don't think even Sesshoumaru knows. Sometimes I like to believe that it was because of his own motherless childhood and that he wanted to spare his brother that. Then there are some days I wonder if he was ever capable of that kind of empathy."

"Ryoushi!" She scolded, shocked by his words. "That's cruel."

"And what he did was not? He told me that at the end she begged for him to let her die. To kill her since his father had already destroyed her life. So he did, Inu Yasha hated him for it and the Tenseiga has lain dead on his hip ever since."

She said softly, after a moment of silence. "Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen the Tenseiga, it's awake… alive… whatever you would call it." She said. "Rin told me once that he revived her."

Ryoushi shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's no wonder he still doesn't trust you, despite all those things you said in his office you still think he's a cold-hearted bastard. Granted, I think he still acts like one, but I know he's better then he used to be."

He watched her stack the empty dishes back on the tray in a thoughtful silence. "It appears that I have been rightfully scolded, and there is much about my grandson I do not know. If you are not too angry with me perhaps you would be willing to take up my offer. I will teach you about our customs and you teach me about my grandson."

She smiled warmly at him. "Yes I think I would like that.

"Good, I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Ryoushi was true to his word and she spent much of the day cloistered with him trying to learn all the things about inu youkai culture that Sesshoumaru hadn't gotten around to teaching her yet. She had apparently reached the end of his patience so he had dumped her on the roof and told her to observe inu youkai interactions until he came back to let her down. She wasn't entirely sure what this exercise was supposed to accomplish. She had all the different formalities down, she knew what it was that she needed to do, and she was just horribly uncomfortable doing it.

She watched two inu youkai puppies playing in the garden below her, if you could call anything the size of a large horse a puppy. Much of inu youkai communication was non-verbal since their natural forms had no vocal cords and complex speech was impossible, so verbally saying something only served to reinforce or clarify what the inu was actually saying with bites and touches.

The two puppies tussled, rolling around in the flower beds until the larger one pinned the smaller down, he dug his milk teeth into the sensitive ear and the little one yelped and whined. The first one backed off and licked at the ear he bit, accepting the little one's submission and giving an apology for the hurt. She could sympathize with the little one on that. Sesshoumaru often scared her in his bids for dominance but he had always made some form of apology, before the winter anyways. Although in many ways his "apologies" scared her more then his threats or belligerence. Now that she thought about it, it seemed strange how she had always preferred Inu Yasha's coarse language and harsh words over Hojo's barrage of gifts of Kouga's brash affection. She wondered what that said about her.

But it had always seemed that no matter what cruel things he may have said Inu Yasha had always come to her rescue. Even from the stupid little things like volley balls and ceiling fans. Kouga had always been too busy rushing ahead to wait for anyone else, and Hojo…Hojo wouldn't have the faintest idea of what to do with the things she had to deal with on a daily basis.

"Kagome, have you seen Sesshoumaru?" She jumped and turned to see Keigo precariously balanced at the peak of the roof behind her with a sheaf of paper in his hand. He lifted his head and scented the air. "Have you been crying?"

"No, I…" she reached up brush her hair out of her face and found her cheeks wet with tears. "I…guess I was…"

"Kagome," He knelt down beside her. She steeled herself and was prepared when he rubbed his cheek against hers, a sign of comfort and support. She repeated her new mantra silently in her head._ He is not hitting on me. He is not hitting on me…_ It unfortunately did little towards the treacherous fluttering in her stomach but it did give her the courage to forge onwards.

She leaned forward and nipped the lobe of his ear, barely touching her teeth to his skin before pulling back. It meant something along the lines of 'listen to me' or 'I will listen to you,' she was still working out all the nuances.

Keigo blinked at her in surprise and smiled. "You are doing much better, barely flinched."

"I'm sorry," she cringed. "All this is so new to me and I keep messing up."

"You're doing fine. Really. If you can just keep from flinching you would only appear to be very reserved and formal." He said. "I think that would please many in the clan. A few may not like it, but trust me, nothing you did would ever please them."

"Oh," she said, they sat in silence for a few moments as she struggled to come up with something to say. "Oh! Thank you, for sending Ryoushi with my dinner last night. He's been helping me with my, ah, etiquette lessons."

Keigo smiled. "That's good. I'm glad that you two are getting along."

"You didn't tell him about the…ah, the …" she gestured to her arms, afraid even of articulating the words to describe the binding sutras, least some unfriendly ear overhear. "It's just that Sesshoumaru thought it might be a bad thing if others knew…"

"I understand. Having such a weakness known could make things difficult. I was uncertain of your wishes on the matter and spoke to no one." He said.

"Thank you, and, please, don't tell anyone." She braced herself again and leaned forward to nip him lightly on the neck, and then licked at the spot where she had pinched the skin lightly between her teeth. The action signified the importance of her command and her appreciation. He ducked his head and kissed her jaw.

"Your secrets will always be safe with me."

She smiled, and ducked her head down, attacked by a bout of sudden insecurity. Her attention was caught by the old papers in his hand. "What are those?"

"Ah, Sesshoumaru is reviewing some of the old treaties and vows of fealty. I managed to dig up this old one on the baku. Honestly, I had always thought the old tale just a legend, but there does appear to be some truth to it."

"What legend?" Her grandfather would, without a doubt be horribly jealous. Of course, his stories were usually made-up nonsense.

"Taigan, you couldn't have made me happier, I like to think of myself as something of a scholar." Keigo grinned and settled in to tell the story. "Our first Inu no Taishou who was also the Lord of the Western Lands was an inu of insurmountable strength and skill. It was said that he could track a moonbeam on the north wind. And his Ryouchi no Taigen, also, was a great hunter. They were approached by the baku to perform a task, and in return, if the Inu no Taishou was successful they would vow to be our first vassals. The baku, you may know, are dream eaters, they are nearly insubstantial and scavenge through men's minds eating the dark dreams and nightmares that plague them. The baku had a problem, a rouge who grew tired of seeking out his food among the sleeping and decided instead create waking nightmares and keep himself fat on the pain that he created through his puppets.

Our lord thought this a fine challenge, you see baku, are very, very hard to track. By their very nature they are only nominally in this world to begin with, and this particular one was very tricky. He used his puppets, living humans and youkai, to lay false trails and waylay his hunters. But eventually our lord destroyed all the puppets and tracked the rouge baku down to its last hiding place, an abandoned dry well. And it was there that the other baku came and sealed away the rouge."

They sat in silence a moment, contemplating the old story, before Keigo stood and stepped back. "Now, I am sorry but I truly do need to speak with Sesshoumaru."

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Yesterday?" He asked, surprised. "Haven't you two made up yet?"

"I…ah…" She stammered and floundered for something to say.

"I'm not blind, and I'm not stupid." He said. "You two may have fooled the rest of the clan, but I know Sesshoumaru too well."

"Oh, well. No, not really."

"Have you tried apologizing?"

"Of course I have!" she snapped at him. The frustration of trying to deal with Sesshoumaru was bad enough, she didn't need someone else to come along and make her feel like she wasn't trying hard enough. "But he won't listen to me!"

"If that's how you approach him I can see why."

"What? What's wrong with…?"

"Look, Kagome, demanding that he listen to an apology does not show your sincerity." He said. "You have to act like you are sorry and wait for him to give you permission to apologize."

"That's…That's insane." She shook her head. "What if he doesn't? What if he just stays mad?"

"You have to wait for him to be ready to hear your apology. Act more submissive if you must, but you have to reinforce how sorry you are by every action."

"I don't know if I'm that sorry, he did leave me in the middle of the mountains over the winter." She growled out. A poor imitation of a growl but it made her point.

Keigo smiled, "Simple, once he accepts your apology keep up the excessively submissive behavior. He knows that you are not really that submissive and it will drive him insane. Eventually he'll be apologizing for anything and everything."

"Really? Why?" It seemed rather counter intuitive to her.

He thought about it but a moment but shrugged. "I don't know why it works, it does, trust me on this. Besides, I don't think you'll have to worry about it. He seems more then ready to listen to your apology."

"Huh? Where do you get that?"

"Because every time I look at the two of you he's been doing something to press his claim but you never respond."

"You're saying it's my fault he's being a bastard?"

"I think you're missing the cues, but he could try to remember that you might not know to look for them in the first place." He said. "When I find Sesshoumaru I'll send him your way. Then you try, and you'll see that I'm right."

She nodded and before she could change her mind he dropped lightly into the garden below and disappeared into the building. She leaned back against the roof tiles to watch the cloud formations high over head. She closed her eyes and relaxed further as the warm sun soaked into her skin. It was such a nice day. Warm sun, cool wind brushing along her skin, through her hair and through the trees. The only thing better would be a swim in the lake. The water would be cold from the snowmelt off the mountains.

Kagome's eyes snapped open with shock. For a moment she could feel the water against her skin. The sensation did not fade now that her eyes were open; it was not just a product of a vivid imagination. It just seemed to intensify. Not only could she see her surroundings, the buildings and trees, hear the puppies playing below her, but her sense of place, of what was around her was extended beyond her vision. She knew where every tree and stream was, she could feel it like an extension of her own body and she could feel the energies around her, natural and sacred, light and dark, like echoes of her own soul… and the Shikon no Tama. Normally she had to concentrate in order to see a shard, especially if it was beyond her natural line of sight, but now she could feel them all around her. The force of the explosion when it shattered had driven some of the pieces deep into the ancient trees and even down into the bedrock. The tainted shards were polluting, warping and twisting the energies around them.

"Sesshouma-"She called out and staggered to her feet, but all the strange sensations that she had kept locked away were disorientating. She didn't know where to place her feet, she stumbled and fell, but she couldn't fall she was the earth under her feet. Before she could think to draw breath to scream she was pulled against a warm body and settled onto solid ground. She looked up into cold gold eyes. "Sesshoumaru, the Shikon shards, we have to…"

"No," Sesshoumaru growled softly.

"Wha- Why not?" her brows drew together in consternation. C_ouldn't he see? Didn't he know what tainted shards could do?_

"The Shikon no Tama is not my concern."

"But," she stammered. "You have to let me…"

"This Sesshoumaru needs do nothing." He snarled. "Why should I allow you anything? You who deny me at every turn?"

"Wha...?" she started to ask but stopped. No, she knew what he was talking about. She forced herself to relax against him. She whined softly in the back of her throat. It sounded more fearful then apologetic, but it had to be better then nothing. He growled softly in response and tightened his arms around her. She frowned in thought and tried to decipher the meanings in his actions. He pressed his teeth against her bared throat, fangs pressing against her pulse. He held her tightly and she could feel his muscles quivering with tension.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, she tried to speak once but he only increased pressure on her throat, making it difficult to breathe but without breaking her skin. She whined again softly and shifted slightly. They had sat there so long her leg had fallen asleep and was starting to get an uncomfortable pins and needles tingling sensation. He gently licked at her neck before asking softly, his breath hot against her sensitive skin. "No more lies. Tell me, what is your name, truly?"

"Kagome." She whispered her voice raw and coarse in her throat.

"Kagome," she shivered as he said her name, soft and low. "And tell me, Kagome, what are you?"

"The Shikon no Miko. There were enemies everywhere, so many wanted the jewel, and Inu Yasha couldn't fight them all, not even with the Tetsusaiga. Miroku bound my powers to hide the Shikon no Tama. He used Inu Yasha's blood to do it. It masks my powers and my scent so no one can recognize me for what I am. I'm sorry." All the words came out in one long rush that left her breathless. She kissed the side of his mouth, her teeth catching on his lip. She wanted him to believe her so badly, and when he was this close, warm and strong, she wanted so many other things as well. "Please, believe me, I'd never intended for this to go on so far…but I was afraid."

"Did you not trust me?" He asked. "Did you not believe I could protect you?"

"I was afraid. Afraid that if you knew you would leave me, too." She trembled and he pulled her close. "And you did."

"This Sesshoumaru will not leave you again. You are mine, and have been since Inu Yasha gave you to my care. I will not forget again." He kissed her, at first fierce and demanding his touch gradually softened as she opened willingly under the press of his mouth against hers. He broke off the kiss and held her close, combing his claws through her hair. "Tell me, now, about the Shikon no Tama."

"But I thought you said that…"

"It is not my concern, but I am not unsympathetic to your duties."

She took a deep steadying breath and explained what she had seen. Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed with concern and he picked her up, tucking her against his side with his arm curled under her for support. "You will show me this, now."

"Now? But…" he had already taken off, the rush of air, drowning out her words. She directed him to the nearest; a buried shard that was poisoning an underground spring.

"Here, it's definitely here," she said kneeling on the ground over the spot. She clawed ineffectually at the grass. "I'd guess that it's about five, maybe six meters down."

"Meters?"

"Maybe more, it's hard to tell."

"Meters?" He asked again.

"Yeah, meters…oh!" she looked up at his blank expression, people in this time used some other units of measurement, but it usually wasn't something that just came up in casual conversation, and for the life of her she couldn't think of what it was. She held her hands out and spread them apart. "You know…a meter."

"I see," He frowned at her hands. "Move."

She fell back as he transformed and dug at the place she indicated. His claws cut into the dark earth and sent it flying behind him. The hole was deep, almost up to his shoulder when he broke through and was suddenly blasted with foul, brackish water. Sesshoumaru backed out of the hole and shook himself off, spraying everything that hadn't already been soaked. He peered into the hole and let out a questioning whine.

"It's still down there." She said. Sesshoumaru sighed and reached back into the hole. His head rested on the ground. She strained her senses to pinpoint the exact location.

"There! It moved. A little to the left…no the other left…" she shouted instructions and encouragement and a few moments later he pulled out a paw full of mud and dirt and one Shikon shard.

"That's it! Be careful." She was at his side, up to her elbows in muck, fishing for the shard before he had even stepped away from the hole. Finally she closed her fingers around it and grinned triumphantly at Sesshoumaru. "Got it!"

He transformed to his human guise and she opened her hand to show him the glittering shard, but he was still gazing down at the polluted water. "Can you cleanse the water?"

The joyful expression faded from her face. "Once, I could have but not now."

"The bindings," he muttered under his breath.

"Yes."

He turned and looked at her "But they don't block everything?"

"Well, not everything." She said. "But anything related to purifying, all of my miko abilities."

"But not your sight or landsense?"

"Landsense? Er, no. Apparently not."

"Listen to me," he leaned in close and nipped at her ear. "Sometimes, a Taigen may have a particularly strong connection to the land. She can manipulate it, make a tree bloom in winter, shatter bedrock in the ground, and… make tainted water run clear."

"But I don't know how to do that."

"Try, can you not try, at least?" he asked. "The shard has been removed but the poison cannot be allowed to fester."

She nodded and pressed a dry kiss to his jaw "I will try; if it doesn't work we can come back on the new moon. I can purify it then"

He kissed her briefly and stepped away. Unsure of even where to begin she crouched down by the gaping hole and stared down into the darkness. She could feel the tainted water seeping into the ground. Given time it would work its way up into the roots of the trees and other plants. If they were very, very lucky it would only kill them. She reached out with her powers, her hands mimicked the motion, reaching down towards the well.

A startled gasp of pain and she pulled back as the sutras on her skin tightened and burned. No, her normal powers were still no good. Kagome closed her eyes and tried to recreate that feeling she had on the roof in the den. She focused on the poisoned water below her. She could feel evil and malice in it. Her powers stirred, restless under the bonds. She focused it on the water and felt the sutras bind and snap at her again. She opened her eyes and turned to tell Sesshoumaru that it wouldn't work, but the vertigo caused by her natural vision superimposed with the landsense almost made her fall, again. The feeling of being in two places at once, of being two things at once was very disconcerting. She frowned in thought, may be that was the trick, being two things at once, turning her powers inwards and not outwards.

She relaxed into the landsense, losing all sense of self and body. So much so that she was completely unaware of her legs collapsing out from under her and falling back against Sesshoumaru. The well beneath her was like an open wound, festering and poisoning the rest of her body. Her powers stirred again within their confines. What confines? How can something that is everything be confined? And just like that, her powers rushed around them, eddying around Sesshoumaru's youki and cleansing the tainted water, even the tiniest droplets that had scattered around them.

Once the spring ran clear she carefully withdrew her powers and opened her eyes. She was curled against Sesshoumaru, her cheek pressed to his chest and his heartbeat thudding in her ear, the Shikon shard clutched loosely in her hand. She smiled up at him weakly. "I did it."

He nuzzled up against her. "Yes, you did. And what will you do with the shard now hat you have it?"

"It needs to be placed under the bindings where it can be purified and hidden with the others." She said. "But I don't have my penknife. I left it in my room this morning."

"'Penknife?'"

"Yes, it's the little blade I use to cut myself. The puncture wounds are small and heal easily."

"I see," he picked up the shard. The mud had dried and flaked off leaving the Shikon shard to shine clear of impurities. "Hard to believe that such a tiny thing causes so much trouble. It would not do to leave such a thing out in the open for so long."

"No."

Sesshoumaru flipped her hair out the way and gently kissed and licked at her exposed skin. She tilted her head, allowing him easier access to the area, and as she relaxed against him a sharp fang grazed her shoulder. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he slid the Shikon shard under her skin. After that was done he gently licked at the wound, rubbed his cheek against her, and ran his hands along her tensed muscles until she had relaxed once again. With a soft sigh she turned slightly, to rest more comfortably with her back against his chest.

He growled softly and slowly leaned them both forward until they were kneeling on the ground, she was almost on her hands and knees, all the while his hands were moving over her, touching her, pulling her closer to him. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe and her skin ached for his touch, the light scrape claws, the press of calloused fingers. She moaned softly and pressed herself back against him. He chuckled softly, the vibration slid down her spine. "Tell me, Kagome, is it true? What they say about humans?"

"Wha..?" she tried to focus but it was nearly impossible.

"That humans are in Season," he ran his claws lightly up her inner thigh. She gasped and shivered at the sensations. "All the time?"

His hand had just reached the apex of her thighs, and she was whimpering in anticipation, when Sesshoumaru snarled viciously and pulled back. She clutched the loosened kimono to herself, sensitized skin chilled and shivering in the cool air that rushed around her in his sudden absence. "Sesshoumaru? What's wrong? What's going on?"

But he turned away and was gone. She wondered at the look in his eyes, disgust and...self-loathing? What was going on with him? She stood and began to stalk through the woods, back towards the den. If he thought that she was just going to let this lie, he had another thing coming.

But the walk was long, and what had only been a few moments flight was hours by foot, and by the time she reached the den she was filthy, tired, and hungry. Tomorrow, she promised herself. I will get to the bottom of this tomorrow.

... ... ...

Kagome awoke in the middle of the night with an unsettling feeling of someone watching her. She rolled over, and nearly jumped out of her skin to find Sesshoumaru kneeling on the floor beside her futon.

"Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here?" Her mind was half-fuzzed with the tattered remains of her dreams, about Inu Yasha and Kikyou. Only she was Kikyou and he had promised to go home with her. Home, through the well, only in her dream it wasn't a well… She frowned and tried to focus, where had they been going?

"Did you love him?"

She blinked at Sesshoumaru owlishly "Who?"

"My brother, did you love him?"

"Of course," She answered and yawned, she was so tired. Why was he asking her these odd questions in the middle of the night? "I've told you that before."

Sesshoumaru bowed his head. She could see him trembling but couldn't understand why. She sat up, as concern for him wound its way through her sleepy mind and drew her forward. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

He leaned forward and rubbed his cheek against hers. His left arm wrapped around her back and pulled her close. His right came up, he brought his hand to her face, his thumb pressing against her throat and the rest of his claws lightly grazed the side of her face. Her heart began racing, blood was pounding through her veins and she was flooded with an inexplicable need to run, to escape. It only heightened her worry and confusion.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear, his voice was ragged and rough. "I had forgotten my promises."

"What promise?" She asked, he didn't answer but his hand tensed, his claws dug into her skin, and blood trickled down her neck... She reflexively jerked away, but his grip was too tight and it just made his claws dig in deeper. She whimpered softly in the back of her throat and turned her head to brush her lips lightly against his jaw. Fear and panic and the rushing, roaring noise that filled her head threatened to block out everything. "Please, please don't."

She could feel his finger quivering with some internal battle. And just as suddenly as he attacked, he released her throat and used both arms to pull her into his lap. He pressed his face against the crook of her neck.

"No," Sesshoumaru whispered harshly, snarling in the back of his throat. "Inu Yasha will not have you. You are mine. Mine."

She held him, rubbed her cheek against him, and stared out into the darkness. She shook, trembling with the shock and the realization that he really had meant to kill her, as he had promised, so that she could be with Inu Yasha. And as long as Sesshoumaru had remained angry he could justify to himself that he was not breaking his last promise to his brother by keeping her alive, but punishing her by keeping her from Inu Yasha.

"It's okay," she whispered softly, rubbing her cheek against Sesshoumaru's hair, spun silver strands shining in the darkness. She could remember the ending of her dream now. It wasn't the well. "He would understand."

It was their grave.


	9. Chapter 9

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Nine

Sesshoumaru scheduled roughly a week's 'vacation' for them, for her, to get away during the new moon. It also awarded them ample oppoutunity to collect more shards. Ryoushi was not happy with the most recent trip however since it was getting to be so close to the Season, but Keigo understood and was willing to start preparing the den in their absence. Kagome was feeling giddy, not only were going to get as many of the remaining shards as they could but she had talked Sesshoumaru into letting her go home.

To pass the time until the new moon, Kagome had new lessons added to her etiquette training with Ryoushi, learning how to use her new landsense. Unfortunately, while many of the rites were open to the public much of the hands-on how-to stuff was part of an oral mystery-tradition passed down from one Taigen to the next. So, her new lessons consisted mostly of trial and error and lots of meditation. Instead of the aimless wandering that once ate up her days she now spent much of her time either staring at her navel or buried in the archives with Keigo,Who had his own research projects, hoping to find some reference to what the Taigen of old were able to do. Kagome still secretly hoped to find that some Taigen had the foresight to commit her traditions to paper, but so far it wasn't looking good.

"This is pointless," She complained, snapping at the leather cord tied around yet another scroll filled with meaningless babble about things that no doubt seemed important at the time they were written but which she absolutely could not bring herself to care about now. "There's got to be an easier way."

Keigo looked up and blinked owlishly at her, he had his own stack of papers and books he had been buried in apparently oblivious to everything else. "I thought you and Sesshoumaru were leaving today?"

"We were but Ryoushi ambushed us this morning with more of the council's 'concerns.'" She held up her hands and curled her fingers in air quotes with a derisive roll of her eyes. "It was all nonsense to me, so I came here to do something semi-useful while waiting."

"Ah, I see." He nodded and rearranged the piles on the desk in front of him. "I take it that your studies are not progressing well?"

Kagome dropped her head to her desk. "Horrible, I can cleanse tainted water, sometimes make shields, but that's about it. No earthquakes, or making a garden bloom on demand. It's all pretty pathetic."

"Have you been keeping notes of your progress?"

Once the trouble with the records became known Ryoushi had suggested that she keep detailed notes on her work for later Taigens to build on. She blushed and peeked up at him from under a fringe of hair. "…not really."

"Taigen," he said reproachfully.

"I'm sorry," she wailed. He was better at making her feel guiltily then her mother. "I'm just really, really bad at keeping journals."

"So, you would leave your successor to this same fruitless searching? Without any even this small recourse? You are cruel, Kagome," he said sternly which only made her feel worse about her lapse.

Of course he could make Sesshoumaru feel guilty when he put his mind to it. "But couldn't I just tell her what I've learned? That's how it was done traditionally."

Keigo was silent for a long moment, staring at her, silently weighing some invisible measure before answering bluntly. "You will be centuries dead before Sesshoumaru chooses another mate and Taigen."

"Why?" She blurted out the question before the shock of his answer wore off and she could consider whether or not she really wanted to know the answer.

Keigo shrugged. "I do not know. The Taishou rarely explains his true reasons."

"But…_how_ do you know?" she narrowed her eyes in thoughtful speculation. "He did give _a_ reason, though. What was it?"

"We were discussing the future prospects of the clan," Keigo hesitated again. "Ryoushi was concerned that gaining a Taigen only to lose her after a few centuries would be disastrous for the stability of the clan…"

"Wait, Ryoushi said what? He was one of the ones that pushed for me to be the Taigen in the first place. Why change his mind now?" she asked, feeling obscurely betrayed when she hadn't even wanted this job when she found out she had it.

"I can only speculate on his motives." Keigo held up his hands defensively.

"Speculate away," she growled out between clenched teeth.

He sighed and nodded. "I believe that Ryoushi may have only made you Taigen in order to force Sesshoumaru to cement your claim of kinship."

Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment before she remembered why her claim was important. "Oh! So they would have to allow in hanyou and other half-breeds."

He nodded cautiously. "Rather that it would set a precedent allowing inu to acknowledge their half-blood kin."

"Right… whatever," she waved off his explanation. "That still doesn't explain where a second wife… mate comes into the conversation."

"Ryoushi is concerned that our enemies will perceive Sesshoumaru as being weak and inexperienced. They will be a very real threat to us during the early part of his reign. Ryoushi is concerned that, should Sesshoumaru fall without an heir, everything that he, that all of us, have strived for will have been in vain."

"Why? Is he so important"

"You may have heard this mentioned before, or perhaps not. It isn't something we like to talk about. Our clan is dying. The old Taishou believed that he knew how to restore us to our glory. Sesshoumaru was a large part of his plan, and if Sesshoumaru falls our clan falls with him."

"An heir could somehow stop this?"

"Perhaps. I don't agree, but Ryoushi feels that a full-blooded heir would delay our doom." Keigo said. "And give us another chance."

"Another chance," she echoed, her eyes widened in shock. She spoke to herself more then to Keigo. "No, not for the clan. For _him_. He's still convinced that he failed with Sessh…"

"Kagome, are you prepared to leave?" She blanched as Sesshoumaru's cool voice cut across the room.

"Yes, I…" But Sesshoumaru only lingered in the doorway long enough to be sure that she followed. She jumped to her feet and chased after him. "Sesshoumaru, I…"

"This Sesshoumaru is aware of the council representative's plan." He paused as he spoke but did not turn to look at her.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. She felt bad about encouraging their reconciliation. She kept forgetting that the clan as a whole meant more to these inu youkai than nearly anything else; he just seemed like some poor old man estranged from his grandson. "I'm sorry I thought he…"

"Kagome, you were not wrong about him. Do not think too harshly of him for it." Sesshoumaru said. "He does think very highly of you."

"Not highly enough, it seems," she grumbled. "Not if he wants to replace me so soon."

"No, Kagome. That is not his intent." Sesshoumaru stated, impatience beginning to color his voice. "It was his plan to have Inu Yasha serve as my Second, but even if he were alive I doubt that he would have served the clan as well as you have as Taigen. Inu Yasha was far too belligerent. Ryoushi knows this as well as I do and would do nothing to undermine your authority."

"Then why?"

"Ryoushi wished to secure a full-blooded heir. That is his concern, and his only concern," he said. "Like any good hunter he can be rather single-minded when chasing his prey. Unfortunately, he does not always notice where his hunt may take him."

She puzzled over the unusual simile but shrugged it off as some form of inu proverb. Something else he said caught her attention though. "Does it really matter that the heir is full-blooded?" She only realized the question's implications after it had passed her lips, she started to verbally backpedal. "Not that I want… or would object to… it's just that I don't think I'm…" She blushed furiously. _Why, oh why does this keep comeing up and why can't I speak coherantly?_ She took a deep breath before continuing. "What I mean to say is that, considering the great lengths to which you have gone to introduce hanyou into the clan, why is it so important that the heir be full-blooded, both you and Keigo specified it."

"Quite simply because it would defeat the purpose if the pup were to die of old age before I did."

"Oh, but why would he?"

"Hanyou only live a fraction of the lifespan of a full-blooded youkai. The human blood weakens their bodies greatly."

"I don't know, Inu Yasha always seemed to manage to bear you off," she said tartly.

Sesshoumaru snorted softly. "There is more to strength then prowess in battle. While Inu Yasha may have been marginally passable in those regards he was still lacking in other areas."

" 'Marginally passable,'" she repeated with the question in her voice. "Wow, I didn't know you thought so highly of him."

Tilting his head bacl, he looked down his nose at her and gave her a disgusted look before deciding to studiously ignore her comment. "It is a moot point. There is no need for a second mate nor an heir. This Sesshoumaru will not die until the clan has been secured. Now, we must leave. I wish to reach the first site before nightfall."

With that final pronouncement he turned and stalked out of the room. Kagome ran to keep up. She was too out of breath to ask the other questions that crowded her mind.

... ... ...

"Here, it's this one," Kagome pressed her hand against the bark of a tree. She frowned at the strange echo from the shikon shard. Over the past several days they had collected more shards then she and Inu Yasha had ever been able to find in any given month, but were having to travel further and further to get them. She was suspecting that they were nearing the end of her self-appointed task.

"Step back," Sesshoumaru commanded.

"No, wait. There's something wrong." She held up her other hand to fend him off. She could feel the energy of the shard from inside the tree, and also an echoing of the same energy coming from… inside of her. It was almost as if the shard was two places at once. "Of course, it's… Sesshoumaru?"

She looked up to explain what had happened only to find him turned away, his head raised high breathing deeply the late summer air. "Stay here."

"What's going on?" she asked, baffled by the curt order, but he was already gone. Kagome shrugged and turned back to the shard imbedded in the tree. It has been so long since she had gone home she had forgotten that there were shards collected in her time as well as here in the past. She couldn't just remove it from the tree and take it wither her because she already carried it. And while she wasn't entirely certain that she believed in the dangers of paradox she did know that she didn't care to tempt fate by finding out the hard way.

She closed her eyes and let her awareness sink down and out into the land around her. With time and practice she had been able to learn to align herself with the landsense quicker and easier; although any touch or distraction was enough to bring her out of the meditative state quickly. Once she was immersed in the landsense and her body was indistinguishable from the stone and trees around her, she focused her attention to the tree in front of her. It was drawing tainted power from the shard and was using it to grow stronger, taller, and more lush. It was choking the life out of everything around it, plants and animals, to do so. If left alone, eventually there would be nothing here but a single verdant tree on a barren hilltop.

Carefully, Kagome drew on the energies of the land around her and coaxed it into a new form. At first the energy fought her new pattern, seeking to return to familiar paths. With patient coaxing, not one of her better traits by any means, which could possibly explain why this exercise failed roughly half the time, the energies gradually took the shape of a massive barrier that she willed it to be. It was grounded deep into the bedrock and reached far overhead, a combination of natural and holy power that turned the tainted energies of the shard back in on itself.

She sighed and opened her eyes to examine her handiwork with mortal eyes. The shield wouldn't prevent anyone from entering the area and falling prey to the shard and its host, but at least this way it wouldn't destroy the entire forest.

"Very impressive, Taigen," a deep cultured voice spoke from behind her.

She spun around and staggered to her feet, half tripping over the edge of her kimono in the process. Uragiri stood less then ten feet away, and he looked much the worse for wear. He was still wearing the same fine silk as when he was banished; only now the white cloth was stained with mud and blood and other, nastier things. "What are you doing here? If Sesshoumaru finds you-"

"The pup is somewhat distracted at the moment," he said. "He won't be back for quite sometime."

"What did you do?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

"What I want, little bitch, is what you and that crippled dog have stolen from me," he snarled at her and took a slow measured step forward. "I want my title and my clan back."

She held herself rigidly still and bared her teeth at him, all of the earmarks of an inu youkai prepared to go for the throat. If only she really was. She was petrified and fighting the instincts that were screaming at her to run, but to do so would only incite his instincts to pursue, dominate, and possibly kill. "Sesshoumaru will kill you."

He smirked condescendingly at her. "He will _try_. This time I will be prepared for that traitor."

"Traitor?" she asked certain only of who they were talking about. "Sesshoumaru has-"

"Betrayed the clan," he said sharply. He stepped in close to whisper in her ear like they were sharing some intimate secret. "Tell me, little bitch, who was your father?"

She carefully stepped to the side and back. A full out retreat would be seen as weak, and she knew she couldn't show even the smallest sign of weakness. "My father? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid," he snarled. "I know he lied for you. You don't have even a drop our blood in your veins do you?"

"I… I never…" Feelings of guilt and regret weighed heavily on her shoulders, a rush of words, apologies and explanations, choked her into silence. She had never intended for her lie to have taken her so far and so deep into these places where she did not belong. It was just to give her a place to hide, even in her own skin, while looking for the shards. She didn't even know where to begin 'I'm sorry' seemed woefully inadequate considering that one of the consequences of her lies had been Sesshoumaru banishing him.

Uragiri's patience ran out before she was able to stammer out some coherent response. His hand shot out and wrapped around her throat. He spoke, suddenly calm, the icy determination in his voice was bone-chilling cold after the heated emotion. "It doesn't matter. They accepted it so it might as well be true."

The tips of his claws pricked her skin as he pressed down forcing her to the ground. Her legs buckle under her despite her mind and instincts screaming at them not to. She growled at him, a pitiful sound that was more of a choked whimper then anything else. "Get off of me."

He leaned down and bit her ear hard enough to draw blood. "You and your lands are mine, little bitch."

The idea that death and dismemberment might be the least of her worries was just beginning to dawn on her when Uragiri scraped the claws of his free hand roughly down the front of her kimono. The outer layer of silk parted easily but the fire-rat cloth underneath held firm. In a flurry of activity, Kagome kicked and scratched at him. Her dull nails scraped down his face and at the arm that held her to the ground.

He jerked back, startled by her sudden attack, but wasn't put off for long. He snarled at her, the sound deep and feral. She instinctively froze and he pinned her legs down with his body. Almost immobilized, she reached out with her mind searching or something, anything that she could use.

Two deep pools of strength lay just beyond her reach; the calm stillness of the sacred power inside of her and the natural energies that surged around her like waves in a storm, reacting to her distress. Between the two lay a thin film of golden light, the barrier that kept her powers inside and prevented her from touching the powers outside. She stilled and tried to sink into the trance required to trick the bindings, but Uragiri took her quieting as acquiesce and resumed his rough tearing at her clothes. She screamed in frustration, a hoarse cry ripped from her bruised throat, and lashed out at him with her free hand. Her fingers curled into claws and raked down his face. She was so focused on her single action that her power inside of her echoed the intent and action and ripped through the bindings and the through the barrier they formed.

Kagome screamed again. This time in pain as it felt like her skin and her soul had been ripped open by the power inside of her. Blue-white light blinded her as power flowed through her, the natural and the sacred mixing together and flowing freely, balancing. She was only dimly aware of the weight being lifted off of her before passing out, from light to darkness.

... ... ...

Kagome drifted in and out of consciousness for quite some time before being cruelly betrayed by her own mind and forced into wakefulness. She was being held, a warm body wrapped around her and a cool hand pressed gently to her face. Something warm and soft was slipped between her lips and her mouth was filled with the coppery taste of blood. Her head was tilted gently back and her throat was rubbed gently coaxing her to swallow. This must have been going on for quite some time although she wasn't entirely clear on the matter, when she finally opened her eyes. Sesshoumaru was looking down on her with a smug and self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Wha…?" She started to ask only to choke on what had been placed in her mouth. She turned her head and, after a few moments of gagging and choking, spat out a mangled lump of red meat.

Sesshoumaru pulled her close and nipped lightly on her shoulder-possibly the only place on her body that hadn't been screaming in pain. He murmured gently into her shoulder. "You are beautiful."

She was growing uncomfortable with his inexplicable displays of affection and struggled to push away. "What happened?"

Instead of answering directly he lifted her up to look at… she wasn't entirely certain what she was looking at. Sesshoumaru gently brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears, claws scraping lightly across her temples. "It was a beautiful display of power, quite suitable for my mate and Ryouchi no Taigen."

At first her eyes wouldn't focus on anything. It was like looking at those magic pictures; she knew that there was something there but she couldn't see past the bloody red haze. She spotted the little things first; a scrap of stained silk, a blue-striped hand, a line of shattered ribs exposed to the sky. Then the picture became clear and she wished that she hadn't looked. Uragiri lay dead on the grass. Four long gashes, deep and wide, started from his face and exploded down his body, ripping him apart.

"Here Kagome, you need to finish this," Sesshoumaru said as he pulled her back to him. She looked down at the bloody lump in his hand, glanced between him and the only other bloody, mangled lump in the area and tried to force her mind to make the connection. It had happened so long ago she was surprised that she remembered it, Sesshoumaru's threat about Uragiri's heart.

"No," she said, half in disbelief, half in dismayed certainty. She pushed away from him and forced herself to stand on shaky legs. Away from Sesshoumaru's warmth she shivered in the chill, but still she managed to stagger a few steps away before collapsing to her hands and knees. She coughed and gagged but only managed to spit out a mouthful of blood and saliva. Kagome stared down at the dead leaved and debated whether or not shoving her fingers down her throat would help.

"Kagome, you need to finish this." Sesshoumaru stood beside her. His impassive face showing neither impatience nor concern. In his hand he held out the bloody remains of Uragiri's heart.

"Why?" she asked, reluctantly giving up the idea of purging for now.

He knelt down and reached out to touch her arm. He had a very intense look in his eyes that made her nervous. She followed his gaze to her arm to find that the wrappings had come undone exposing the sutras. She could only gape at the markings in shock. The sutras were no longer neat lines of elegant writing; instead they were crisscrossed with slashes of unblemished skin. Sesshoumaru's fingertips traced lightly down one of the gashes, a gentle caress that made her skin crawl. "You ripped through muscle and skin to free your powers. You were bleeding heavily when I got to you."

She pulled away from him. "But how..?"

"There is power in blood, you know that," he said. "The heart is the seat of power, by eating a youkai's heart you gain his strengths."

"So, I… I have a youkai's fast healing now?" She looked down at her arms. "I shouldn't need to… finish… that, right?"

"Yes, Kagome, you do," he told her firmly. "Healing drains the body of strength. It could kill if there is not enough energy available by eating away at healthy parts of the body, but there is enough power here."

She looked at the bloody lump and tried to work up the courage to take it from him. But this wasn't like Miroku offering a roasted snake or lizard, it was someone's heart; someone that she knew. "I can't. I just can't."

He hesitated a moment. " I can understand that you might not wish to accept favors from any males right now. But Kagome, this is not about our courtship. It is important. You need this."

She jerked back when he reached out to touch her again. "No. I just… can't do this. I just… want to go home, my home."

He hesitated as she struggled to stand. Her legs were still a little unsteady but they were better then before. "Very well, let me…"

"No," she snapped at him, nearly falling back down. Everything had taken a turn for the strange, and she was no longer certain how she felt for him. She did know that she didn't want him to touch her at the moment. "I'll walk."

"It's too far."

"I'll walk," she growled and set out determinedly, arms wrapped around her with Sesshoumaru as a silent white shadow. She didn't want hom to carry her but she didn't want him to leave either. It didn't take too long before the silence began to grate on her nerves. He was so quiet she found herself looking around to make sure that he was still there. After what had happened she was no longer quite sure what she wanted.

She stopped and turned, stumbling at the abruptness of the movement and nearly crashing into Sesshoumaru. "Where were you?"

"I caught the smell of…" he hesitated. "…an enemy on the winds and left to track him."

"Uragiri?"

"No. If I had scented that one I would never have left you alone."

"Did you catch him?"

"No."

"Then what-" she stopped the question before she could complete it. To ask 'then what good are you?' would do nothing but instigate a fight. So, she shut up and turned away. A few steps later a better question occurred to her and she rounded on Sesshoumaru. "How could he do that?"

Sesshoumaru blinked at her in surprise, but didn't answer her question. Probably because he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Wrong time of year," she elaborated, her voice sounding strange and detached to her ears. "We still have a few more weeks before the Season starts."

"Ah," he said as understanding dawned, but his expression didn't lighten and she could almost see him weighing his words very carefully. "His intent was not to mate for pleasure or for procreation but for power. Your… the female's desire is not necessary."

"Desire? What about consent?" She could do this, she could calmly talk about what had happened, because she fine. Uragiri did not succeed, and she was not in shock. Her bare arms were unaccountably cold without their customary wrappings of fire-rat and she wrapped them around her waist, tucking the edges of the tattered sleeves around her.

"Consent?" The word seemed to puzzle him for a moment. "If she submits then her consent is given."

"Even if the submission is forced? That's horrible," she spat, and turned to stalk away. She went only a few steps before turning back. "So, what he did-tried to do-that was okay?"

"Some of the more ridged Traditionalists would think so," he said carefully. "many of our older customs are… very brutal."

Considering that this was Sesshoumaru describing something as 'brutal' gave her cause for concern. "Ryoushi said you were a Traditionalist. Is that what you think?"

"No, I am… rather liberal for a true Traditionalist, but quoting the party line helps me to keep the more conservative members of the clan in check." He smiled at her, that stunningly beautiful smile that he only showed for blood and death. "But I would say that even the most conservative of the Traditionalists would agree that you objected suitably to the traitor's claim."

"I was protecting myself," she protested.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Well, what if I couldn't?" She turned and walked away again.

Sesshoumaru caught up to her easily. "Kagome, consider that those are the oldest of traditions, discarded by most. A good and admired dominant…"

"I don't care," she snapped "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Mercifully, he fell silent, but his words kept echoing round and round her head, leaving her no peace. And the oppressive silence was back. It made her feel disjointed and distant, like the world could just blow away in an instant. She may not have felt like talking but she craved the sense of presence and realness that it gave her. Reluctantly she broke the silence again. "He called you a traitor for letting me into the clan, why?"

"Because only inu related by blood may be acknowledge by the clan. I claimed you as mate and kin, at first out of ignorance so you could receive the protection of the clan."

"Then what happened?" She shook her head. "I get that Ryoushi took things out of your hands, but why continue with the charade?"

He sighed and stopped walking. He looked away from her as he spoke. "The lie was so perfect. It was everything that we needed. The timing of it was like a gift from the ancestors. It gave my people a hope for the future of our clan. I could not take that away."

"How…? What did you say?" She asked, but no answer was forthcoming. Sesshoumaru simply stood staring off into the distance. She cautiously reached out to touch him. "Sesshoumaru, who did you believe was my father?"

"Inu Yasha."

"What about Inu Yasha?" She asked confused.

"He was the only one of our clan known to have relations with a miko."

"Oh," she said feeling distant as her mind failed her and refused to process the information. Then, "oh, gross…that means we're supposed to be… Aren't there laws against incest?"

_Oh, shit, _she thought, he was giving her that blank look again, she probably wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Not particularly. Mating close to your line strengthens the blood, though it may be considered ill advised to mate too closely."

"Right, and we get the special dispensation why?"

"It was believed that our joining was greatly auspicious for the clan. A reuniting of a line that was sundered by me and my brother," he said. "Your acceptance by the clan has allowed the breaking of one tradition and the return of another, all for the good of the clan. If maintaining that lie is what allows for these things and for this hope to continue, then I will do whatever is necessary for the good of the clan."

She stared at him slack jawed. She knew that his clan was important to him, but to see the fierce determination in his eyes as he spoke added another dimension to his almost single-minded loyalty. She was beginning to understand why he was so angry when he learned the truth. If he had _believed_ all of those things were because of her, or rather who he mistakenly thought she was.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as tears blurred her vision.

"Kagome, it's not…" He pulled her close and rubbed his cheek gently along hers, but the closeness made her tremble and the comforting gesture just made her skin crawl.

"No, please," she pushed him away. All of the sudden turns her life had taken made her dizzy. She turned and started walking away wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. "I just want to go home."


	10. Chapter 10

Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter Ten

Right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Kagome walked, painstakingly dragging one foot in front of the other.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Her world had narrowed down to whichever patch of dry leaves happened to be directly in front of her at that moment.

Left.

Right.

She shivered and tucked her hands in closer to her body. Her fingers were pale and blue, and she couldn't remember the last time she had been able to feel her feet.

Left.

The sun was going down. Under the trees it had been dark for some time but she could feel its warmth and presence fading away as the shattered marks on her skin faded with it.

Ri-

Her legs buckled out from under her as the demonic strength that had been keeping her going faded with the stolen blood.

Warmth.

Sesshoumaru lifted her up and spoke, his voice wound through her mind, teasing her with understanding that was just out of reach. He nuzzled her gently; a light press of cheek to cheek and the soft warmth of his tongue against her neck, before settling her down on the cold ground.

She struggled to sit up, fighting a wave of dizziness that darkened her vision and threatened to send her into unconsciousness. She managed to prop herself up on one elbow, heal lolling awkwardly to one side as she cautiously looked around her. Sesshoumaru's golden glow of youki was gone. Kagome huffed, annoyed, and forced herself up further. It wasn't so bad once she got going, from sitting to kneeling, but then momentum kept her going, sending her tumbling back to the ground.

She lay where she fell, staring out into the darkness, for an indeterminate amount of time before Sesshoumaru returned. He lifted her up with his borrowed left hand and she shivered at its icy touch. She tried to focus on him but the night was dark without even the light of the stars to see by.

"What's happening?" she asked, words coming out slurred as she struggled, even to speak.

"The new moon has robbed you of your youki gained strength and your human blood cannot cope with the loss," he said gravely.

"No, no, no," she mumbled clutching at his haori with numb fingers. "I was fine… fine… I'm fine."

"You are currently suffering from severe blood loss and shock," he said, voice cold and clinical. She marveled at his use of the word "suffering." It just seemed to be a more empathic use that was usually to be expected. _Certainly, "you are insufferable" or "I will make you suffer"but…_ Coppery blood and dark youki filled her mouth. It startled out of her meandering train of thought she fought against Sesshoumaru's iron hold on her but her efforts were futile. Her holy powers curled inside of her stirred sluggishly. In the panicked effort to quell her rising powers and _not_ strike out at Sesshoumaru, she swallowed the piece of meat he had fed to her.

It slid down her throat with surprising ease, and Sesshoumaru released her jaw almost immediately. She panted slightly preparing for ber body's reaction; although she was uncertain whether she was preparing to fight or encourage the urge to vomit. Her body betrayed her yet again. Instead of feeling ill and rejecting the raw meat, she hungered for more.

"Please, don't make me do this," she begged. Even the small amount of power from the one piece she consumed cleared her head significantly. "I don't want to be…"

"You need this," he said and slipped another small piece into her mouth. The blood soaked meat tasted dark and rich on her tongue. "What do you not wish to be? Alive?"

"Like Naraku," she whispered hoarsely once she swallowed the tiny piece. A dull ache twisted in her gut, the little bits he was feeding her was not enough and she needed more. He fed her another, larger piece, almost as though he knew of her body's demands. The blood and the power made her heart race and her body tingle with pins and needles, like it was coming awake.

"You are nothing like that _hanyou_." The word was like poison in his mouth. Not for the first time she wondered what she was to him. She knew that she could never be what he wanted, she couldn't be what Inu Yasha had wanted either, nor her family. She had failed everyone who had ever meant anything to her and now… now she was no longer entirely sure that she was human anymore. That the curse hadn't in some way changed her in some subtle way that she wouldn't detect until it was too late to go back.

"Naraku grew more powerful by consuming other youkai," she said between the pieces of whatever poor demon had fallen under Sesshoumaru's claws. With each piece her body grew stronger and her mind clearer; and with each piece she wanted more and more to turn away. "And now I'm doing the same thing he did."

"It was not the source of his power that was corrupt," he said, pulling her close a fang tracing a gentle line along her ear. "It was the human soul that created him."

"But how can you be certain that it wasn't the youkai?" she asked, pressing herself against his chest as if she could hide from the fears that echoed in her head. "Each one, piece by piece, growing into that thing, until Onigumo was almost gone. How do you know that it won't do the same to me?"

"Power can neither save you nor damn you," he said. "Only you can do that. The power is yours to control or to let it control you. That is the true test of strength. One that Naraku and many hanyou, fail."

"And Inu Yasha?" she asked, her courage suddenly buoyed up by the youki coursing through her veins. The youki curled around the Shikon no Tama nestled in its protective shell of holy power, testing the still waters and pressing in towards the deep well of vulnerable, corruptible, power that the jewel contained.

"You would be able to answer that question more than I," he said, he combed his claws gently through her hair, knots snagging on his fingers. "When Uragiri banished him from the Western Lands I would have said 'no' had you asked me then. He was temperamental and prone to acting rashly."

She blushed hotly, that description could just as aptly be applied to her. Although less so recently, having to rely only on herself had tempered her recklessness to a degree.

His voice became distant, almost sad, as he spoke of the past. "He was still reckless when last we met, an inheirant personality flaw I presume, but not as driven. He seemed to have matured considerably, more so than I had thought him capable of."

Kagome pressed her hands over her heart at a sharp pain that made her catch her breath. "He always seemed the same to me." She said softly. "Angry and hurt and trying to hide it."_Not unlike Sesshoumaru._ "How should I know?"

"Was it not you, Shikon no Miko," he spoke softly, in a low dangerous growl. "Who sealed him away for the theft of the jewel? And was it not you that released him from the seal only to leash him to your side? Tell me Miko, why would you do those things?"

"W-what? I didn't…" she protested, wanting to scream in frustration as the weight of the past pressed heavily on her shoulders once again. _Would she never leave me alone?_ "I am not _Kikyou!_"

Sesshoumaru held her in place as she struggled to push away. Held her pressed to him with his teeth at her throat until she stopped, gasping for air from overexertion. Patiently he doled out more pieces of the heart for her to eat. She spat out the first but her defiance was short lived, Sesshoumaru's determination and her own body's cravings conspired to undermine her.

"I know of Kikyou," he said thoughtfully after she finally stilled and the remainder of the heart was gone. "The dead woman who wished to drag my brother to hell with her. What has she to do with you?"

"Everything," she said miserably.

"What was the cause of her enmity towards you?" he asked when it became clear that she would not be forthcoming with additional details without further prompting.

"What?" she asked.

"She hated you, I have heard her call you an interloper and a foreigner," he explained, exhibiting more patience tan she ever thought possible. "Why?"

"Because I was," she said reluctantly. Kagome hated talking about Kikyou, hated even thinking about her. Everything was so muddled and confusing where she was involved, a tangled skein of love and hate and duty that Kagome didn't even know where to begin to unravel it. "She died to protect the jewel, and I brought it back, and worse, I broke it into a million pieces. She believed that I stole her life, her powers, her duty… her love, but I didn't." Desperate to be believe she pushed back to look into Sesshoumaru's eyes, only to recall Keigo's advice at the last moment on inu youkai and sincerity. She cuddled closer to Sesshoumaru and kissed him along his jaw. "She took away _my_ life, forced me to finish what she couldn't. She's the real Shikon no Miko, not me."

Sesshoumaru was silent for a very long time, so long that she was beginning to wonder whether or not he would believe her. "There is only one soul that is pure enough to cleanse the Shikon no Tama," he said carefully, testing each word as he said it. She nodded adamantly. "Yet, I have seen you cleanse the shards. You, not her, are the Shikon no Miko."

"We share the same soul," she told him.

"How?" He demanded. "I have seen you standing side by side."

"An ogre witch raised Kikyou from the dead and my soul was torn apart. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true, please believe me." Her voice grew shrill in her desperation. Sesshoumaru gently rubbed his cheek against hers, a gesture of comfort, it may have been, but until he accepted her submission he didn't accept that she was telling the truth. "I am her reincarnation."

"Why should I believe you?" he asked. "A new collection of tales to bolster you failing lies."

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. "I have no reason to lie to you. I hid my identity because I was afraid, but now you know and there is nothing more to hide."

With a gentle touch on her jaw Sesshoumaru tilted her head towards him and captured her mouth in a slow, languid kiss. His thumb lightly ran back and forth over her cheek. Without conscious thought her arms wrapped around him and she pressed her body against him, regardless of the shortness of her breath and sharp pains in her chest.

She frowned, as best she could being otherwise occupied, and tried to focus her attention inwards at the source of her pain. The youki she gained from eating the heart of a demon had healed her body but now that the task was finished it was pressing inwards, towards the holy powers within her. Both sides of the balance were weak but they struck out at each other, each strike causing spasms of pain. She broke off the kiss with a strangled cry, clutching at her chest.

"Kagome…" he spoke but she couldn't focus on the words. The powers within her clashed and fought. The miko energies were trying to purify the youki and the youki in turn were striving to corrupt the inner core of her being… and the Shikon no Tama. The interior battle sent waves of pain wracking her body. She curled in on herself and tried to escape the pain through the only way she could think of, the landsense.

She dove down deep into the ground, deeper than she had ever gone before. She dove past the delicate lattice of entwined roots, deep into the bedrock and deeper still, until the energies around her changed subtly. She could feel tension vibrating in the earth, an energy normally masked by the vibrant life in the topsoil. Another wave of pain, and Kagome fought being dragged back to her body. It wasn't until the powers within her twined themselves around the earth's energies that surrounded her that she realized her mistake. When using the landsense, the sensation that she was moving away from her body was only an illusion.

_Stupid, stupid girl. You knew that,_ she scolded herself. She had known that, instinctively, the first few times she had opened herself to the landsense, but with time and practice she had convinced herself otherwise. Now she could only watch in horror as the two conflicting powers within her tapped into the built up pressures of the fault lines beneath her feet, that she had just given them access to. She trembled helplessly as the two powers faced each other like tigers fighting over a kill, vicious and deadly. She quailed, _I am weak, Sesshoumaru was right about that._

She had never had any control over her holy powers, something that she had just attributed to her lack in traditional training. It never seemed important before. Her powers had always been there when she needed them, but even in those instances where they acted of their own volition, to ward off a threatening youkai or purify a jewel shard, it just happened. It had never been a matter of willfully controlling her powers they did what she needed, she had never even entertained the thought that her powers could in some way harm her. But more often than not of late her powers have struck out at her, and now the lengths it would go to cleanse her body of the youki would result in untold damage, both to her and to the earth itself.

She couldn't just let it go like she had been, she grit her teeth in determination. She _had_ been weak, but she will be strong. She _will_ learn control… of all of her powers. If she didn't, even assuming that she survived this particular battle, crap like this would just keep happening, and she was getting to be sick and tired of being kicked around by everyone and everything. She stepped forward between the two warring powers, and grabbed each one with a mental "hand." They snarled and snapped at the intrusion, striking out at her and ripping though her mind and soul with infinitely sharp claws.

She flinched in pain but did not release her grasp. Gradually, painfully, she learned. She learned that she could focus her mind one the power, either youki or miko, and it would bend to her will, but once her thoughts strayed it would once again become unruly and rebellious. She had to stay mindful of both powers at the same time. It was difficult, as she forced first one and then the other "away" they fought back. Both wanted, in as much as a non-sentient source of power could "want" anything, to be near her. Finally, she settled on a form of concentric circles, with the holy power in the center and the youki surrounding it. It was a simple concept to focus on and slowly both powers settled down into the pattern she wanted. She carefully disengaged their—now her—hold on the fault lines.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and opened her eyes. Dawn was not far off; the struggle had been long and exhausting. Automatically she looked around for Sesshoumaru. He was standing a short distance away and she could practically feel the tension radiating off of him.

"Sesshoumaru?" She sat up, her head swimming. _Concentric circles, concentric circles._

Almost instantly he was at her side, his body curling around her, warm and protective. She could feel his warm breath against her neck. "Kagome."

_Would it kill him to ask if I was okay?_ She grit her teeth, jaw aching from the pressure, in a momentary flash of anger. Anger that was quickly released as it upset the delicate balance inside of her. Instead of lashing out at him she brought her hand up to brush against his cheek and to guide herself forward as she licked at the corner of his mouth, a quick flash of tongue to flesh but the taste of him lingered. "I'm okay, youki doesn't appear to agree with me."

She could feel the tension drain out of him, muscles relaxing under her fingertips. He brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss that was as fierce as it was brief, and it left her aching for more. "It would appear that you will be a constant source of defiance and irritation."

She frowned, if she didn't know better that sounded almost affectionate. "Why? What did I do now?"

"Your displays of power are growing more impressive, and more noticeable," he said, as he spoke he rose gracefully to his feet. "We should leave this place lest any more curious youkai come to investigate."

"I can't," she said curling back into a ball. She could feel the tingling along her skin that indicated sunrise, though it was still dark beneath the trees. "Too tired."

He growled his displeasure and, without warning, picked her up from the ground. "It is no longer safe here, we are leaving. You may rest at our destination."

"I want to rest now," she whined and leaned against his shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"To your shrine," he said shortly. "You expressed a desire to return to your home did you not? Your stubbornness has already delayed our arrival and I grow weary of this foolishness."

"Why, you…" She raised her hand, either to strike out at him or grab him, something to get his attention, though neither was incredibly intelligent, but the action was never completed. As the sleeve fell back her attention was captured by the sutras on her arm. It was difficult to see in the dim twilight but the dark markings appeared to be… healing. The edges where the writing bad been broken were closing as she watched. "Sesshoumaru… Is that supposed to happen?"

He gave her a derisive look, and she blushed. _Yeah, it's not like there's a ton of precedents for this. _But he examined her arm anyways, eventually bringer her wrist to his nose and breathing deeply. "You smell different, older, stronger… It appears that the new blood is bonding with the old."

"What's that supp…ow!" She brought her hand up to her mouth. She had bitten through her tongue and blood was welling out of the wound, filling her mouth. Cautious inspection revealed a full set of very sharp incisors. "What's going on?" she lisped slightly though the unusual set of teeth that she didn't have a few minutes prior.

Sesshoumaru gently traced the pads of his fingers along the length of fingernails that had just as suddenly grown to an abnormal length. "What do you know of the nature of youkai blood, Kagome?"

"Nothing," she answered promptly, before the obvious answer came to her mind; the sutras were written in blood using the blood's power to mask her true identity. "No, wait… blood holds power?"

"That is true, but it is not the answer that I seek," he said. "Youkai blood is the essence of life and will strive to continue on, even after being consumed."

"Sounds like a parasite."

"Don't interrupt." He nipped her ear sharply. "If a human consumes a youkai's blood and heart they can reap the benefits, but only temporarily as there is not enough youki to maintain the blood, and it will eventually die."

"Really?" she asked, speaking very carefully. "How come I never heard of it? Wouldn't people be doing it more often? Not that killing a demon is _easy_. Even the weak ones aren't exactly push-overs…"

"Kagome," he cut off her babble impatiently. "The practice is strongly discouraged, even the priests of you religions claim that doing so corrupts the soul.'

"I never heard that," of course she never heard a lot of things her grandfather told her. Sesshoumaru bit her ear harder, she could feel a trickle of blood slide down her neck. "Ouch! Will you stop that."

"You become sidetracked far too easily." He licked at her neck and ear gently, the small nick stinging at his attentions. "If on the other hand a youkai consumes the blood and heart of another the new blood can thrive and grow in the abundance of youki."

"Then why do youkai eat humans, if other youkai are better?" she asked.

"Though powerless, humans do have an energy all their own that is sufficient for some weaker youkai."

"Oh," _So, Kagome, how does it feel to be suddenly at the bottom of the food chain?_" "So, what does this have to do with me?"

"The curse," he said, tracing a claw along her forearm, "gives you enough youki to allow the new blood a place to thrive. As like calls to like it will fill in the path that has been set for it."

"But why is it…" She didn't want to say it was turning her into a demon. It wasn't, she was still herself… wasn't she? "changing me like this, it didn't before."

"It did," he said. "It changed your scent. Inu Yasha's hanyou blood was too weak to do more. Stronger blood will effect more powerful changes."

"Oh," she said softly as the meaning of his words sunk in. Focusing her attention on the youki she could almost feel it slowly draining out of her "hands" as it worked its way into the bindings. "I don't want any more, okay? No more blood, no more hearts."

"This Sesshoumaru shall do what is necessary," he said quietly with an intensity in his eyes that belied the coolness in his voice. "For the well being of my people, I will do whatever is needed."

"I'm not of your people," she said.

"Are you not?" he asked, drawing her closer. "Did you not declare your submission to me?"

"That's different," she said.

"Is it?"

"Yes," she declared decisively. "It is."

"As you say," he said with an amused undertone in his voice, as though she had said something foolish.

"It _is_," She repeated childishly. "And I thought we were going to be leaving?"

He nipped her neck lightly. "Insolent bitch, we would be if you would cease being so easily distracted."

She smiled, glad that she had somehow won back his easy, playful manner. She had missed it. She hated how he had been keeping at arms length even after once again accepting her presence beside him. "I'll never get home."

... ... ...

"When you return we are to speak to the priest of this shrine." Sesshoumaru declared as they entered the well house. Many of the farmers returned to the area once the darkness that had possessed Sesshoumaru had been dispelled, and they had informed her that Tsuuki's brother had taken over the care of the Sunset Shrine. Why Sesshoumaru insisted on speaking with him, she had no idea. All Kagome knew was that she was going to go home.

Without thinking about it she reached out to push the cover off of the well. The wards on it snapped at her, and the cover wouldn't budge. She muttered under her breath, words lisping out between fangs she still wasn't used to having. "This is just not fair. They're not allowed to seal the well on me."

"Did the miko here not tell you she had done that?"

"Oh, yeah… forgot about that." She had managed to avoid thinking about Tsuuki and… _oh gods, what am I going to tell her brother? _She froze up at the thought, a momentary panic, during which Sesshoumaru unsheathed the Tenseiga. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Unsealing the well," he answered shortly.

"Oh… you can do that?"

With a single swift pass Sesshoumaru cut through the ofudas binding the cover to the well. The dissipating power tingled along her skin. "This Sesshoumaru can do as he pleases."

"Oh, right," she said weakly, as the both watched the well cover fall to the side. Kagome swung one leg up over the rim of the well as Sesshoumaru looked down it dubiously.

"Your home is truly at the bottom of the well?"

"The other side of it actually," she told him. "The well takes me through time."

"Truly? I had heard rumors, and Inu Yasha's belligerent ramblings, but I gave it little credence at the time."

"Maybe now you'll believe people when they tell you something."

He snorted softly, "doubtful."

"True," she giggled and pushed off the edge of the well. "by-ee!"

Kagome landed a bit harder than usual on the packed silt at the bottom. Her legs folded under her and she landed hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. She gasped for air and looked up, preparing to yell for Souta… only to find Sesshoumaru looking down at her.

"No… no, no, no." She dug at the bottom and sides of the well. Her new claws cut deep gouges even into the stone. "It can't just stop working… it always works… I have the shards… it has to work."

Sesshoumaru knelt at her side, his hands gripping her wrists and pulling her up. "Kagome, are you certain that this is the place?"

She blinked at him stupidly. _What kind of a question is that_?She had only been jumping in and out of this well for the past four years. She nodded. He let go of her and stood, running his fingertips lightly over the stones. He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed delicately. She was starting to get the impression that her going home was not, and never had been, the primary reason for coming here. "What are you doing, Sesshoumaru?"

He didn't answer her. He ignored her, preferring to pry one of the stones loose from the wall, as she staggered to her feet. A few other stones and some dirt fell out with it but the rest of the wall held firm. Writing etched into the outer edge of the stone glowed with a flickering blue light.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A prison," he said as he dropped the rock and looked around him. "But it appears that the prisoner has escaped."

"But you knew that already, didn't you." A memory teased her, something about one of Keigo's projects. "The baku. You think that this was the place where it was trapped."

"That appears to be the case."

"That doesn't make any sense," she said as she turned the information over in her mind. "Why would it let me travel through time, and why stop now?"

"I am… unsure," he said slowly, with obvious distaste for the word. "Our legends indicate that the baku trapped the renegade outside of time. Perhaps, when their spells began to fail it allowed your travel, but with the chains completely broken…"

"I… you…" she sputtered almost incoherent with rage. "How long have you known about this?"

"Keigo only recently found the records regarding the matter," he told her calmly, apparently oblivious to the bomb that he just casually dropped on her.

"And you didn't think this important enough to tell me?" She shrieked, trembling with shocked outrage. She choked as all the words she wanted to say, had to say, collided in her throat. Everything was gone. Her family was so far in the future that she couldn't even hope to live long enough to see her grandfather's birth much less Souta' or any of her friends. But the most distressing thought, was the realization that she could have gone back. Any of those visits with Sesshoumaru she could have gone, could have jumped through the well to spend one last day with her family, but she didn't. She didn't because she had been so worried about Sesshoumaru and what would happen if he knew, if he had figured it out. Only to learn that it was all for nothing; he knew, they were gone, she had nothing left but the burdens and duties that tied her to this place she didn't belong. She didn't belong here and she wanted to go home. But she couldn't, she hadn't, because he didn't tell her about what was happening to her well, to that tenuous link that grounded her through all the chaos that surrounded her. He didn't tell her and now she was trapped. She choked out, "how could you do this to me?"

He looked at her, surprised by her outburst. "There was no reason to connect the baku's prison with your well. We did not wish to cause you unnecessary distress."

"You…" she stamped down on her temper. He wouldn't listen if she pushed and yelled. She clenched her teeth and took a few deep, measured breaths before slowly tilting her head to the side, deliberately exposing her throat to him, to remind him of her vulnerability and dependence on him. It was one of the most alien things that she had done yet, and at that moment hated the entire inu youkai culture with a passion. Once she was certain that she had his attention she spoke slowly and carefully. "I don't suppose that it might have occurred to you that my family, _my clan_, might be just as important to me as yours is to you. And I don't suppose that it might have occurred to you that it might upset me more to learn that I had lost any chances to see them. And then to learn that you knew, you _knew_…"

"Kagome, I…" He leaned forward to rub his cheek against hers, but she pushed away from him, slamming her back against the stone wall.

"You knew and you said nothing," she whispered, her body trembling.

He pressed her against the stone and licked her ear, a slow sensuous exploration that ignited a burning desire but did little to quench her rage. "I did not know, not for certain. Even the possibility was a bare distant thought. What I did know was that this renegade has formed some unnatural fixation on you. That it stalks you, allies and enemies alike."

"How do you…" she asked before the realization dawned on her. "The darkness, that thing… that had possessed you."

"Yes."

"It killed Inu Yasha."

"Yes, and more." he said softly. "Though insubstantial the baku can influence the minds of the demons around them, creating puppets to do their will."

"The demons going in and out of well," she murmured softly remembering what Tsuuki had told her.

"Yes, it was most likely still partially imprisoned at that time, but could draw in those that passed too close." His breath was hot on her ear as he spoke, and she found her anger focusing on another target. "It wouldn't have been much, just enough to harry you and your friends, to lead you one by one into the traps prepared for you."

She leaned forward pressing her lips against the side of his mouth, forming the words against his skin. "I want it dead."

He looked down at her and smiled a heartbreaking, breathtaking beautiful smile. Then he leaned down and kissed her deeply, pressing her against the rough stone wall. By the time he broke the kiss she was breathless and gasping for air. He spoke and his voice was rough with desire. "Yes. Together, my Taigen, we will hunt this prey, take it to the ground, and rip out its throat."

He stepped back and picked her up. "What now?"

"There is nothing more to learn here, so we must seek our prey elsewhere," He said and leapt to the lip of the well. He had just settled her on the ground when the door to the well house slammed open.

Tsuuki's brother, and head priest, stood in the doorway trembling with rage and holding an ofuda held out in one hand, pointed straight at her. "Demon, how dare you return here."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Kagome turned to face the priest, a smile automatically lighting her face. "Ah, Higurashi-sama, we wished to speak to you."

But the angry young man only talked right over her. "My sister trusted you, to her dishonor."

"But, I'm not…" She could only stare dumbly as the priest held out the ofuda before him.

"Know this," he said, voice strong with conviction. "You and your kind are no longer welcome here. My sister may have neglected her duties by accepting your presence but the new Shikon no Miko will not be so tolerant."

"The new…?" Kagome felt a little dazed, _hadn't anyone told him the truth?_ "But I'm the-"

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru interrupted her. "There is nothing here for us any longer."

She turned to look at him. "I thought you wanted to talk to…"

He shook his head. "We must leave."

"No!" The priest shouted. Kagome began to turn, too slowly; she could feel the wave of spiritual energy rushing towards her. She could feel it begin to burn her skin before the spell even reached her.

She drew breath to scream, as Sesshoumaru drew the Tensaiga. The edge of the blade, with that strange blend of her miko power and his youki cut through he priest's spell as if it was nothing more than the paper the charm had been written on. Faster than her eyes could follow Sesshoumaru pinned the priest to the wall of the well house, with one hand drawing back and dripping with poison.

"Sesshoumaru! No!" She was horrifies by the situation. Was she to lose her home in this time as well?

Sesshoumaru did pause, much to her relief, and lower his hand. He leaned forward and growled softly. "You are fortunate, human, that your presence here suits our purpose."

"Sesshoumaru! What are…"

"Come Kagome, we are leaving." Sesshoumaru ordered coldly as he let the young man drop to the floor. He left without another word, without even looking to be sure that she followed. She ran after him.

"What was that all about?" she asked, when she finally caught up with him in the courtyard.

"He attempted to harm you. That is unacceptable." Sesshoumaru said flatly.

"No, the… look, we have to explain to him about the Shikon no Tama."

"We need do no such thing."

"But…"

"Kagome, think. We want your enemies to believe that the jewel and its guardian reside here," he said, pausing to gesture at the shrine complex around them. "They will do a better job disseminating this falsehood if they believe it themselves."

"B-but," she stammered uncertainly. "He should know the truth."

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru turned towards her, a slight tone of exasperation coloring his voice. "Your friend, the miko, she know that her brother was likely to serve here, did she not?"

Kagome shrugged, uncertain of where he was going with this line of reasoning. "I don't know. Possibly… probably."

"And she knows her brother well?" he asked "Better than you?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably, "I only met him a few times."

"Do you think that she may have not told him for a reason?" He was relentless in his cold logic. The guilt twisted inside of her. "Do you think that maybe it was to protect you, as it was her duty to do so?"

"No! Stop it." She yelled, bringing her hands up defensively, but there was no defense to the cutting words. "It wasn't my fault. It wasn't."

"Kagome," he said softly, tenderly and reached out for her. She attempted to push him away but he would not be deterred. He laved her throat and neck with warm strokes of his tongue. Against her will, she found herself relaxing against him. He spoke softly into her ear. "She loved you like a sister and was proud of her position, though she courted danger every day from the seekers of the jewel. The danger has not passed for you. Possibly it never will, but you will never be strong enough to stand alone, not even if you consume a thousand youkai hearts. And the Western Lands are not strong enough yet to withstand the onslaught of your enemies… or the loss of its Taigen."

He fell silent. She didn't know whether she should feel hurt or touched by his declaration. He only wanted to keep his people safe… but somewhere along the line she became a part of that single-minded, relentless drive to protect. "But I just…"

"What?" he asked softly, as she searched for something, some reason to remain.

"But if we leave like this I won't be able to come back," she said in a small voice. If they rebuilt the wards to keep out all demons it would keep her out as well, except for the one night of the new moon.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to one side. "And is there anything for you here now?"

The painful words struck home. What did she have here? A magicless well, her friends' graves, and a home she was no longer welcome to? Sesshoumaru took her silence as an answer in and of itself. He nodded curtly and turned towards the shrine steps. "W-wait… the Tetsusaiga."

That made him pause. He turned and looked at her with one eyebrow raised in silent question.

"We… we can't just leave it here," she stammered, feeling like she was betraying Inu Yasha. This place was the closest thing to a home that he had ever known. It was only fair that he be allowed to rest here undisturbed. She hadn't felt so bad when she offered the Tetsusaiga to Sesshoumaru back when they met in the youkai market. That had been _for_ something Inu Yasha would have understood. This was just for her own selfish need to keep close the last few bits and pieces of her past, but knowing that didn't stop her.

"Very well, then," Sesshoumaru said after a moment of thoughtful consideration, that she was surprised took as long as it did. "Retrieve the fang and we shall be on our way."

She nodded and walked to the main shrine building slowly, dragging her feet, and savoring every last step on the shrine grounds. There were a few people inside, the Tetsusaiga rested on the alter untouched. She faltered a few steps before steeling herself and striding forward determinately. She grabbed the sword, prayer beads, paper blessings, and all, and lifted it from the plain lacquered table stand. She turned to find everyone staring at her; a few of them had even half risen to their feet.

"I'm sorry." She bowed briefly, clutching the sword to her chest despite the paper charms that burned her skin. "I… ah… it… the sword is needed," she stammered and rushed from the hall.

Out in the courtyard she found Sesshoumaru holding Higurashi at arms length by the neck, feet dangling over the cobblestones.

"Sesshoumaru!" she exclaimed, but before she could object further Sesshoumaru dropped the priest, who collapsed, gasping and choking, to the ground, and turned to leave the shrine without a word. Reflexively she paused by the young man to make sure he was still alive. "Are you all right?"

"I don't care who you think you are," he spat you a mouthful of blood at her feet. "You are no longer welcome here."

Kagome jerked back, stung by the venom in his voice. She choked back the tears she could feel burning her eyes and followed Sesshoumaru down the stairs, but not without glancing uncertainly behind her. As they walked though each torii she could feel the barriers slamming shut after them. They passed through the village and fields. It was almost surreal the way the villagers bowed respectfully as they usually did. As they entered the forest she began to strip off the paper blessings tied to the sword. They sparked and flashed but were easily parted from the youkai blade.

Sesshoumaru had always coveted this sword as the most overt symbol of his father's power, though it ironically was not the most valued by the demon himself. That Sesshoumaru did not turn and rip it from her hands was a testament to how much things have changed. It was a change that she found to be oddly disturbing. She _wanted_ him to demand the Tetsusaiga. She _wanted_ him to go back to being the arrogant, uncomplicated bastard she had first met. She wanted Inu Yasha to still be alive. She held out the sword to Sesshoumaru. "Don't you want this?"

He stopped and slowly turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.

"You can wield it. Inu Yasha's death broke the seal on it," she told him. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"What I want," he said slowly, weighting each word. "What I want is for my father to formally submit to my claim as Inu no Taishou. What I want is for my brother to stand by my side as Second, shouldering the responsibilities of the clan. What I want is for Rin to grow to a young human woman untouched by the poverty and violence her race is subjected to." He turned as he spoke and reached out to brush away a tear from her cheek. "But neither of us shall receive what we want, shall we?"

"No," she whispered.

"The fang is yours," he declared, dropping his hand to his side. "As you are my brother's declared heir it would be… uncouth of me to take it from you."

"But if it were given?" she asked softly, breathless from the sudden predatory look of anticipation in his eyes. _What is it that he wants from me?_

"Given. For such a thing to be given it could mean many things depending on the demons involved," he said somberly. "It could mean something as simple as an open declaration of trust. It could symbolize a bond between two families…"

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly gone dry. "What would it mean for us?"

"It would mean that my brother has given me his support even from beyond the grave, and…" he hesitated over the words, an almost imperceptible stumble as he considered whether or not to continue. "And it would mean that you have accepted me, any other claimant for you would have to wrest the blade from me."

"Oh," she said and looked down at the sword in her hands. Her mind worked furiously, weighting the options. It would be better all around for her to give him the blade: it would consolidate Sesshoumaru's position within the clan, it would give the clan's enemies reason to reconsider an open attack, and it would be in her best interests if Sesshoumaru was better armed. But her mind kept returning to the thought that Inu Yasha would rather die then give Sesshoumaru his sword, he had gone to great lengths to prove so. She clutched the sword to her chest and looked up apologetically. "I can't"

Sesshoumaru's open expression shut down and, without another word, he turned and walked away. She felt like she had once again failed him. With her head hung down. She followed.

... ... ...

The den had grown in their absence. Not only had the hanyou and half-breeds arrived but their non-inu parents and siblings as well. Unfortunately, integrating peacefully was the last thing on anyone's mind as the town filled to bursting and tempers flared. Kagome and Sesshoumaru arrived just in time to quell a small riot.

Bodies, well body parts really, littered the fields around them. Sesshoumaru had announced their presence with all his usual panache and demolished about a third of the mob indiscriminately. Not that she could tell who was who, it was a motley group that stood there blinking nervously at them, kappa, oni, kitsune, a whole bunch of things she didn't recognize and even a fair number of humans.

"Who is responsible for this?" Sesshoumaru asked, sounding incredibly bored. Surprisingly, there was no answer. As the frightened silence stretched on Sesshoumaru scanned the crowd with half-lidded eyes and tried again sounding even more bored then before. "Who tends this land?"

Now there was movement, a bedraggled human stepped out of the crowd and walked gingerly across the bloody field. He looked much like every other human farmer did in feudal Japan; underfed, overworked, and scared shitless. "I do, lord."

Kagome had to stifle a giggle as the man's voice squeaked with fear. It sounded _funny_ but somehow she doubted that anyone else would see the humor in the situation.

"Would you care to tell this Sesshoumaru what has been transpiring on his lands?" He asked casually, demons in the crowd flinched at his name.

"O-of c-c-course, my lord." The hapless farmer stammered out. "T-this afternoon I found these trespassers on my – on your – fields. They were draining the rice paddies and trampling the grains." As he spoke he gained confidence and his indignation lent him passion. "So I called my boys and the horses that worked the next field over; they've had trouble too, and we went to chase them off. Th-that's when you came… my lord."

"I see," Sesshoumaru said as he eyed the individuals not indicated by the farmer as being part of the home guard. They backed up, grouping together defensively. "And you? What was your purpose for these actions?"

Eventually, after much shuffling and grumbling, a full-blooded kitsune was pushed to the front. He bowed deeply, almost groveling. Sesshoumaru did not accept his submission but wordlessly indicated that he should speak. "Inu no Taishou, Ryouchi no Taigen, I am Kiba. My daughter, through your grace, has been accepted into your clan. I like many others here, escorted her here to _your_ protection, my lord. Only to find that there was no place to rest. All the hostels were full, even those who opened their homes to strangers, at exorbitant prices no less, had no more space on their floors. We will not, we _can _not leave our children."

As he spoke he gradually straitened to look Sesshoumaru strait in the eyes. Kagome could feel Sesshoumaru tense beside her at the challenge. He spoke lazily. "So you drain my fields and destroy my crops."

Kiba spat on the ground "Dogs don't eat rice."

"_My_ crops," Sesshoumaru repeated. "Benefits my land and my people."

The kitsune gave a sharp barking laugh, but Sesshoumaru cut him off before he could speak further. "You may rest assured that the matter now brought to this Sesshoumaru's attention will be properly resolved." A flick of his wrist, a flash of green light, and the huddled mass of would be squatters were a pile of steaming, bloody, mess.

Shocked by his sudden actions, Kagome took a sharp breath. Her lungs filled with the fumes from Sesshoumaru's sweet-smelling poison. She had always wondered at the floral, feminine scent, but now she could smell the musky undertones that screamed danger and set the hairs at the back of her neck to standing on end. It reminded her of a phrase she heard once, something about a steel fist in a velvet glove.

While she stared at him in wide-eyed shock Sesshoumaru grabbed her elbow and gently but firmly guided her away from the vastly depleted crowd. After they were away from the bloody fields she finally managed to stutter out, "W-was that really necessary?"

"Yes," he answered without pause.

"B-but…"

"An example had to be made," Sesshoumaru said. "He set the terms not I."

Kagome furrowed her brow in consideration. If Kiba had been an inu Sesshoumaru would have considered his words and accepted or rejected his argument by accepting or rejecting his submission. But with the Kiba changing his submission to a blatant challenge, the challenge had to be answered with a show of force, regardless of whether or not he actually had a valid point, or Sesshoumaru would be seen as weak. "How different are foxes from dogs?"

"Kitsune are more solitary, they do not form the large clans like we do, but much of our customs between dominant and submissive are similar," he answered curtly and Kagome blushed slightly, she hadn't meant to ask that. At least, not so rudely and not out loud.

She fidgeted, fingers tapping nervously along the Tetsusaiga's wooden sheath. There was a lot that she wanted to say, to explain before the hustle and bustle of the inu clan in high Season devoured all of their time and energy, but with each step they drew closer to the den and her time was slipping away. Most importantly she wanted to apologize for not giving him the Tetsusaiga. But she couldn't explain, not in any terms that Sesshoumaru would understand anyways.

Kagome took a deep breath and said, "You were very impressive."

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at her. As the silence stretched on, she hopped nervously from foot to foot.

Okay, so it was true that she generally felt that she should not approve of wanton violence (unless she was the one doing the ass kicking, of course). But it was true, Sesshoumaru had a certain grace and command that made him in combat breathtakingly beautiful. Kagome wilted under his intense gaze and muttered under her breath. "Well, it's true."

He turned from her abruptly. "Apology accepted."

It took a little while for the meaning to work itself out; he did understand and he wasn't mad about the Tetsusaiga. Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, Kagome perked up and followed Sesshoumaru to the den.

The warm fuzzy feeling did not last long. If the city surrounding the den had seemed like a powder keg on the verge of exploding, the den itself was in the midst of said explosion. Youkai of all strengths and sized were milling around the courtyard just inside the gates. Kagome could feel the growling, rumbling discontent vibrating up from the cobblestones. Even the guard, not Keigo this time; an older dog with long iron grey whiskers drooping from his muzzle, was more interested in what was happening within the courtyard then who was passing between his paws.

Unlike before, their entrance garnered immediate attention. This, Kagome considered, was probably a good thing as killing half of the youkai in the courtyard would have pretty much undone the whole purpose of her getting dragged into this mess.

"You- bitch," A female kitsune-inu hybrid in a haori that barely contained her lush curves strode forward with a fan of tails lashing behind her, one clawed finger pointed directly at Kagome. "I challenge you."

Kagome blinked and was about to ask something embarrassing when Sesshoumaru stepped in. "No."

The female's expression shifted into something calculating. She turned slightly, letting the kimono slide a little lower off her shoulder, and _simpered_, "Sesshoumaru-sama, surely this little kit couldn't possibly meet the needs of _so-o great_ a lord, as yourself." Kagome tried not the gag at the horrible innuendo. "I could…"

"No," Sesshoumaru cut in coldly. "There will be no challenges among the females, your safety is too valuable to this clan. If this Sesshoumaru catches a scent of any," here he paused to glance once again at the female who had giving up trying to cuddle up to him for just looking petrified, having been on the receiving end of that look Kagome almost felt sorry for her. "a hunt will be called."

At that declaration a frightened hush fell over the crowd. Kagome puzzled over their reaction before remembering Uragiri; a hunt meant being disowned and possibly being killed. Kagome frowned, the punishment seemed a little harsh for the transgression. But she was torn on whether to say something; Sesshoumaru's proclamation protected not only her position but her life, and she was keenly aware of it.

Keigo stepped forward before she could make up her mind, following him was a shy little hanyou girl. He bowed deeply to both of them. "Taishou, Taigan, may I introduce my daughter? Sakura."

Sesshoumaru, probably recognizing the distraction for what it was, gave Keigo a cold look but conceded to the formalities. After receiving a light kiss of the cheek from Sesshoumaru the girl stepped up to Kagome and tipped up her face expectently. Sakura looked to be about the same age as Souta the last time Kagome had seen her brother, but the girl still had a veil perched upon her golden ears. One of her triangular ears drooped over a golden eye. Kagome gave the girl a quick peck on the cheek, and received on in return, but couldn't help asking about the ear. "What happened?"

Sakura looked up at her solemnly. "My mother's father tried to cut off my ears."

Kagome winced and reached out to comfort the girl. Unconsciously emitting a soft whine as she laid her cheek against the top of the girl's head. "It's okay, you'll be safe here. I'll make sure of it."

"I know," Sakura with the simple confidence of the young. "Father told me so."

"Yeah, what else did he tell you?" Kagome asked.

"He said, I could help you," she said earnestly. "I've had training as a ladies' maid and he said that you still had trouble tying your obi."

"Did he now?" Kagome asked a small growl of annoyance creeping into her voice, as she looked over to where Sesshoumaru and Keigo stood a few steps away evaluating the crowd. "hmph, dogs gossip worse then old women."

Sakura's bright laughter rang out over the courtyard, and Kagome couldn't help but smile down at the girl's shining eyes. Her grandfather would say that a child's laugh was a good omen for the future.

... ... ...

Kagome moaned softly as Sesshoumaru moved over her and inside of her. She arched her back and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. His breath hot on her ear as he panted heavily. Each breath punctuating a thrust of his hips. Her own sobbing breath was accented with sharp mewling cries that drove them both to greater height.

"Se-… Sessh-… Sesshoumaru," she gasped out, her fingers digging into his back, claws slicing through silk-soft skin. He bit her ear hard enough to draw blood and an angry growl rumbled in his chest.

"No," He growled and she cried out as the silver curtain of his hair fell back to reveal Inu Yasha's face. She watched in horror as his eyes darkened to blood red, and the dark blue-black streaks appeared like slashes across his cheeks.

His claws were in her hair, pulling her head back, forcing her to bare her vulnerable throat to him. He reared back, thrusting painfully deep, and opened his mouth showing impossibly long needle sharp teeth. The black marks on his cheeks oozed a black, viscous liquid that ran down his cheeks like dark tears staining his pale flesh night black until Inu Yasha's outline was solid darkness with blood read eyes and gleaming white teeth.

The Baku struck, sinking his teeth into her throat and the coppery tang of her own blood filled her mouth and her lungs burned…

And Kagome awoke with a short, startled scream. She let out another small scream as Sesshoumaru sat bolt upright next to her, his long silver hair glowing softly in the pale light that filtered into the rooms. His head was tilted upward slightly as he took deep searching breaths.

He let out a soft, annoyed growl and, closing his unfocused gold eyes, fell languidly back onto the futon without once fully waking. It was a little reassuring that he didn't sense an immediate threat, as the dream's intense fear still haunted her, but when he… rolled over and took the blankets with him-

"Hey, give over," she said and tugged at the blanket's trailing corner to no avail. She growled; a high pitched "er" noise that vibrated in her throat and ticked her sinuses. She clamped her hand over her mouth and nose in an attempt to stop the wavering sound that was more reminiscent of a playful puppy than anything else.

She lay back down and tried to go back to sleep. She cuddled against Sesshoumaru's back, but her sweat soaked body shivered in the chill autumn air, and she was still too tense from the nightmare, her muscles quivering with fear and desire.

Kagome resolutely tried to sleep and was gradually relaxing until a soft musky smell ticked her nose and caused her body to tense and tighten once again. She was puzzled by the unfamiliar scent until she heard a muffled thump and a girlish giggle from the next room over. She groaned and buried her head under her little corner of the blanket but the airless pocket, which reeked of her and Sesshoumaru's mixed scents and sweat, was worse. Especially since it seemed that _everyone_ was mated except her.

She frowned at the youkai phrasing and mentally reworded the thought. _'Everyone was _getting laid _but her'_ A fierce blush burned her cheeks. She pulled off the stifling blankets, only to find that it wasn't the blankets that was smothering her but the thick cloying smells of musk and need, and the heighten youki, tense and on edge, from all of the newcomers.

Before she knew it she found herself trotting, almost running, down the empty hall of the residence without even registering that she has grabbed the Tetsusaiga or threw on a thick seasonal yukata. It was pink with inu puppies frolicking along the hem. She glared down at the print, even her clothes lied for her; the design was worn by new or hopeful young mothers. She continued stalking down the hall, now thoughroughly out of sorts.

Kagome thought that all she needed was some fresh air, but once outside the driving restlessness urged her onward. She momentarily hesitated, wandering around at night with the Tetsusaiga would make guards who were already on edge because of the Season even more uneasy, but she couldn't bear the thought of going back into the residence hall to return the sword to its place next to the Tensaiga. She may have hesitated but even before she completed the thought she was moving across the gardens ignoring the cold, wet grass or the sharp gravel as she moved with undirected purpose. Buildings and gardens passed her but it wasn't until her foot hit the first wooden step to the Hall that she realized she even had a destination at all.

Inside it was all fixed up. Even the wrecked floor had been seamlessly replaced. Though there was little enough call for the place this year, too many of the older youkai were forcing the newcomers to prove their place with tooth and claw for the subtle formalities of the Hall to be invoked. That's not to say that the Hall of Ancestors was serving no purpose. There were meditation cells beyond the main Hall, traditionally used by the inu for a retreat for the world, to reconnect with the Land and the Ancestors. Now those cells were being refurbished and reinforced with warding spells to allow the new hanyou a place to retreat to during their human nights. A place they could retreat to that, once the wards were set from the inside allowed no one and nothing in or out.

She wandered down one of the branching halls, curious to see how the work was coming along. Personally, she hated the idea, especially since one of those cells was to be her own prison once a month for the rest of her life. She had fought with Sesshoumaru and Ryoushi over the point. She also thought that it was sending a bad message to the hanyou that being half-human was something shameful to be hidden away. But no one, not even the hanyou themselves supported her efforts. For all of them being human _was _shameful. She kept forgetting that, even as she was viewed as a hanyou herself. Every time it was pointed out it was like a fist to the gut, and an undirected rage built inside her crying out in frustration: _but why? It's not fair!_

Fuming in growing, directionless anger, Kagome almost missed the subtle tug of a familiar presence, but her powers did not and the sudden yearning of both miko and youki for the missing fragments of the Shikon no Tama nearly bowled her off her feet. She stumbled and caught herself on the doorframe to an open room.

Someone had been using the room, there was an unmade futon kicked gracelessly into one corner and the small… shrine for lack of a word for the youkai equivalent though her inner miko sensibilities recoiled from the idea- was lit with candles and sweet smelling incense with two shikon shards in an offering bow.

Confused and shaken, why hadn't she sensed these so close sooner? She entered the tiny cell and cupped her hand over the shards. Nothing happened and she felt foolish for forgetting that her powers didn't work like they used to.

"Kagome?" she frowned and turned around at the familiar voice.

"No, you're dead," she objected, her voice sounding flat and alien. Inu Yasha flashed his rakish grin that few people ever saw, and always made her grow weak in the knees.

"Now is that anyway to greet an old friend?"


	12. Chapter 12

**_Chapter Twelve_**

Inu Yasha's grin faded to a sheepish and abashed expression that was, unfortunately for her knees, equally endearing. "Yeah, about that. I'm sorry Kagome, but there wasn't any other way. 'To convice an enemy you must must first convince a friend' or something like that."

She practically melted, he was apologizing; Inu Yasha never apologized, he… _wait, what?_

"You let me think you were dead," she growled, the puppy-ish whine dropping deeper into her chest until the low vibration rolled out of her as a menacing undercurrent of sound. Inu Yasha looked suitably startled. Her hands tightened on the sheath of the Tetsusaiga, claws cracking into the wood as she raised it over her head and brought it down with all of her newly augmented strength, punctuating each word with a blow to the hanyou's unprotected head. "Do (wap) you (wap) have (wap) any (wap) idea (wap) of (wap) what (wap) I've (wap) been through!"

He cringed and cowered under the blows and only peeked out from between his defensively raised arms when she paused long enough to catch her breath. "I had to," he yelped, fumbling at the folds of a battered kimono that had obviously seen better days "look here, it was so I could collect the shards. It was for you, you stupid bitch."

"Sit!" she snapped, forgetting that he wasn't wearing the prayer beads. But she took the small magically sealed bottle that he held, and out spilled a couple dozen of the tiny shards. She tried to mentally calculate how these would fit with what she had. "How?" She breathed.

He preened, his battered face already healing. "Hey, it wasn't easy, but you were slowing me down, ya know?"

She growled and he reflexively ducked, but when no further violence was offered he straightened up, puffing out his chest with his usual bravado. Kagome rolled her eyes at him; he was so childish.

With a delicate claw she nicked a small cut as close to her heart as she could without breaking a sutra, or flashing any more chest then was absolutely necessary. Out of the corner of her eye she caught him _leering_ at her. "Pervert," she muttered and turned away. There were a lot of shards, this was going to _hurt_.

One by one the little pieces found their way home, painfully burrowing through flesh and bone and organ. As each piece clicked into place her powers surged around the jewel. Red and white lights danced on the cell walls as her powers acted in tandem to purify the tainted shards and to heal the damage caused by their passage through her body. She was so entranced by the play of lights that she barely registered the uncharacteristic look of awe and rapture on Inu Yasha's 

face. Rough claws caressed her cheek, burrs in the ill cared for and split nails pricking her skin. The soft words he was murmuring gradually trickled through to her consciousness with a thrill of alarm. "So beautiful… my beautiful sunset."

She frowned up at him, trying to puzzle out his strange words when she became aware of a commanding presence intruding into her muzzy thoughts. "Kagome, wake up."

"'Wake up,'" she echoed weakly, _am I dreaming?_

Inu Yasha's expression turned ugly, dark and hateful. "I was promised the Shikon no Tama."

She frowned at him. "I know but it's not complete yet. We agreed…"

He slammed her into the stone wall, his claws digging into her arms. She screamed as the dream-veil that clouded her vision cleared and the demon standing before her was not Inu Yasha but another hanyou; someone she didn't know. He was a malformed mix of human and canine features, heavily built with thick bulky mucles and he used his mass to loom over her in an arrogant display of dominance.

"Give me the Jewel." He snarled at her, and then he turned his head to speak to someone else. "No! You promised me, and I will get it if I have to rip her apart looking for it." But no one was there.

She clutched the Tetsusaiga, to her chest and wished she knew how to use it, wished she had stayed in bed, warm and safe with Sesshoumaru, and most of all, wished that she wasn't here trapped by a hanyou that was obviously completely insane. And who was apparently loosing his battle with whatever internal demons were haunting him. He let go of her to swipe and claw at the air, howling at it, before raking his claws along his own temples. Blood poured across his face masking his features in a sheet of red.

"No! Get out of my head!" He howled and started to shake. At first it was a light shuddering, an unnatural rippling of the skin across hard muscles, but soon enough the violence of it threw him to the floor, blood pouring out of his mouth from biting his tongue out and the sound of bone cracking from the forceful pull of muscles wrenching in directions they were never meant to go. Then it was done, as quickly as it started with a final light twitch of the fingers, and she was left along in the deafening silence with the body of the hanyou.

Not that it was at all silent; as the fear and adrenalin settled she finally noticed the incessant pounding on the door and muffled voices calling for her. She carefully picked her way across the blood spattered floor and lifted the bar that sealed the room. _Odd_, she thought not being able to remember when or how the bar had been dropped into place. The moment the seal was broken the door was snatched from her grasp and she found herself pulled into Sesshoumaru's arms.

"I'm okay," she murmured numbly, still in shock from the hanyou's sudden demise.

Sesshoumaru growled softly, and bit her gently at the back of the neck. He apparently wasn't about to take her word for it; he ran his hands across her skin, drawing his fingertips along each line of bone. She tried to bat his hands away but that only renewed the irritated growl and prompted pinpricks of pain as fangs dug deeper into her skin.

Resigned, Kagome watched from her position safely, if awkwardly, caged by Sesshoumaru against the stone wall of the hallway as Keigo and a couple of other guards entered the room. After a few moments Keigo exited and approached them.

"What did you do to him?" He asked her.

"Nothing," she protested, squeaking uncomfortably as Sesshoumaru tightened his grip. "He just started ranting and then had a seizure..." she thought about it a moment before adding. "A really, really bad one."

Keigo gave her a blank look and even Sesshoumaru pinched her ear lightly before she realized that the word she used was borrowed from English, and they had no idea what she was talking about.

"It's a… uh… electrical storm in the brain…?" she said waving one hand at her temple an trying desperately to remember a long-ago overheard conversation between her grandpa and Hojo commiserating about her frequent absences. "Or… no, wait… I think that's a stroke… crap, I can't remember."

"Kagome, what happened?" he asked gently. Hesitantly, she told them, carefully editing out the bits with the Shikon no Tama. They must have known that she was leaving something important out because Sesshoumaru's grip grew tighter and tighter throughout the tale until she was worried about getting her limbs squeezed off. Keigo gave her a measured look but didn't press the issue; he simply nodded and turned back to the room.

Sesshoumaru released her neck with one last soft lick and picked her up, tucking her against his hip like a child. He spared one brief look into the room. "You have your orders, Keigo." He growled out, his voice barely recognizable.

"Of course Taishou," Keigo's reply floated after them as Sesshoumaru carried her swiftly from the Hall.

"I can walk, you know," she protested, shifting her weight and trying to find some way to hold the Tetsusaiga that wasn't either terribly uncomfortable or likely to trip him up.

He didn't answer, and while she couldn't get a good look at his expression she'd have to be an idiot to miss the simmering anger radiating from him.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, growing nervous. While he never was one for expansive displays of verbosity she had known him long enough to know that this utter stillness was a very bad thing. She was growing frightened, more so then during the ordeal with the strange hanyou, and she could smell the sharp tang of 

her own fear. Kagome wrinkled her nose and curled her lips in distaste, it was unpleasant and less so when she could taste it on the air.

But he still didn't say a word. Not until they were back in their room, her room, and he lay her down gently on the rumpled futon. He carefully brushed the hair from her face, his expressionless face belied by the gentleness of his hands.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked again, hating the tremor in her voice.

"It is almost dawn. I will retrieve something for you to eat," he said stepping back.

"But…" she started to protest.

"You will stay here," he interrupted her sharply and snapped the shoji shut behind him.

"But…" she repeated to empty air. Kagome pouted and kicked sullenly as a lump of blanket. So what if she was nearly killed. It's not like that was a new experience, hell he was involved in a number of them, there was no reason to treat her like a…. Her head snapped up and she glared at the door he had disappeared behind. He _was_ treating her like a child, or rather, like an inu puppy.

She knew that, like normal dogs, parents in their true form would carry their puppies by a fold of skin at the back of the neck; in the humanoid forms, even though that flap of skin was no longer there, the press of teeth to that location established an adult-child relationship. Not to be confused with a bite to the juncture between neck and shoulder that was for mating, or flirting at the very mildest.

And then the way he stood over her was a clear protective signal, so not only was she a child but a totally helpless one. Her scowl deepened as she fumed, when he got back they were going to have words… which he would probably just ignore. _Damn, _she swore silently. He wasn't going to listen to a thing she had to say until he was good and ready… unless she could make him ready. Remembering the advice that Keigo gave her she smiled grimly and rummaged around in her head for every scrap of inu youkai culture and custom she could dig out and began planning her response.

She didn't have much time, Sesshoumaru returned quickly with a small covered container. This was probably for the best; over thinking suicidal plans usually only resulted in nervous breakdowns. He placed the food on the desk/table and settled on his usual cushion. She, instead of going to her seat across from him, crawled to him and climbed into his lap. Not an easy feat in an ankle length yukata and by the time she got to her destination her clothes had been pulled all out of sorts.

If he was surprised by her behavior it didn't show in his expression. He remained perfectly still as she made herself comfortable. Once in place she leaned up and licked the corner of his mouth. Now he was growing suspicious. He watched her through hooded eyes, but returned the gesture with a kiss. One clawed hand rising to brush along her jawline in a gentle touch that sent shivers down her spine. Not quite the response she was looking for. Inu youkai customs were incredibly complex, but she was sure this was the right one. Not to be deterred, she nipped lightly at his lip. Sesshoumaru pulled back sharply, apparently not expecting her silent demand. He glanced between her and the food that he brought.

She waited.

He growled softly at her. "You are old enough to feed yourself."

Internally she cheered, she got it right. Inu puppies would demand food by licking or biting at an adult's mouth. Very similar to the standard display of submission the nuance was mostly in the context of the act. She showed none of her joy at her small victory on her face. Instead she widened her eyes in an expression of open innocence and when she spoke her voice was artificially high and sweet. Any of her old friends would have known something was up by that sound alone. "Oh, _can I_, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

She struggled not to grin as that brought him up short. His eyes narrowed to just gold slits and a low, almost inaudible, growl started. She could feel it vibrating through her fingertips resting on his chest. "You are not a pup."

"Really?" she drawled, her voice dropping to its usual registers. "Because for a moment there I wasn't sure, what with how you've been treating me, and all."

He tilted his head back slightly to look down on her. "This Sesshoumaru shall treat you as is fit."

An ugly snarl filled the room. Kagome was very surprised to find that it came from her, but that didn't stop her from barreling ahead. "Then make up your mind!"

He frowned and opened his mouth, though whether it was in response to her snarl or her yelling she didn't know, she didn't care, and she wasn't about to let him get a word in edgewise.

"You blow hot and cold, and I am sick and tired of not knowing what to expect from one minute to the next. You don't want me, I get that, but don't…" His snarl joined hers, much deeper and more menacing then she could ever hope to achieve.

"Don't want you?" He repeated softly. She yelped as she found herself unceremoniously shoved off his lap and pinned face down on the table the long hard line of his body pressed against her back informing her just how clearly she had misinterpreted the situation. He dug his claws in her hair as he wrenched her head back and when his spoke his breath was hot on her cheek. "Is this what you want? To be treated like any other bitch in heat?"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" she yelled slamming her palm down on the table, the lacquered wood cracking under the force of the blow. She pushed back against him and struggled to turn around. After a moment of awkward fumbling, and a bit of confusion over what to do with one leg, she wound up laying on her back underneath him with her legs straddling his hips. The position was one of complete surrender exposing her throat, belly and groin to him, and while it wasn't something she had planned on at the beginning of this little tiff it had an immediate and profound effect on Sesshoumaru. He eased back, giving her more room, his expression softening, and… was that a flash of guilt in his eyes?

They stared at each other, both of them panting slightly from the force of the emotions. He looked away first, lowering his gold eyes from her face and bending down to nuzzle her gently in apology. "This… _I_ am sorry, Kagome," he murmured softly to her surprise. "I never know how to deal with you. As the hanyou I thought you were, as the Ryouchi no Taigen, and even as the Shikon no Miko…there is a proper order to these things. But you are all of them; you make the rules I have lived by my entire life are a meaningless contradictory morass." He sighed softly. "And I don't know what to do."

Kagome realized how difficult the admission must have been for him and she rubbed her cheek against his soft hair. "Then just forget them," she whispered softly. "I'm just me, nothing else."

She wasn't sure what else to say but fortunately words were not needed as he kissed her, at first gently with the slick slide of tongue against tongue then more fiercely with the graze of sharp fang against the tender flesh of lips. She accepted it, accepted him, without complaint. Her arms come up to wrap around his strong torso. His claws raked across her already disheveled yukata and she mewled a soft sub vocal whine of need and want.

The sharp rapping at the door to her room was not a welcome intrusion and they both broke apart with similar annoyed growls. Keigo, however, was not to be so easily discouraged. He slid the door open a crack and bowed respectfully from the safety of the hallway.

"Report," Sesshoumaru ordered curtly without making any move to get up off of her.

"As we suspected the incense is similar to the other of the baku's poisons we have encountered," Keigo began, settling down outside the door. "The herbalist who analyzed the compound believes that this blend was specifically made to entrap the Taigen." Kagome yelped as Sesshoumaru's claws dug possessively into her skin. Keigo hastened to add, "But not to kill her. We believe the baku caused the… seizure in it's host to stop him from killing her."

"That makes sense," Kagome interjected, struggling to sit up to see Keigo over Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "I wasn't sure if natural seizures could get quite _that_ violent."

Sesshoumaru, however, was not having any of it. One clawed hand caught her behind her knee and pulled, dragging her back to her previous position flat on her back before him.

"Um… yes…" Keigo coughed politely, studiously ignoring them and continuing his report. "I've checked the legends in regards to this ability, but there is no mention of it. There are too many possibilities to even hazard a guess as to its nature. It may be a new ability or one limited to the baku's control over it's hosts or simply lost to our records.

"This makes the third attack by the baku that we know of. I believe that the baku will continue to do so until it achieves it goals. And, if I may be so bold Taishou, I would suggest setting a trap for it. If we can draw out the baku itself instead of it's puppets the Tensaiga should be able to kill it."

Sesshoumaru gave a slow, thoughtful nod and waited for Keigo to continue. And waited… Kagome could smell the nervous sweat wafting off of him. Sesshoumaru could as well and his golden eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Speak," he ordered.

Keigo whined unhappily. "Only the Taigen, I fear would be enticing enough to bait the…"

"No," Sesshoumaru interrupted curtly.

Keigo sighed, "Nothing else would cause the baku to act rashly and…"

"No," Sesshoumaru repeated. "Not acceptable."

"Hey," Kagome objected. "Don't I get a say in this? If Keigo thinks it'll work, we should at least consider it." Not that she _wanted_ to be bait _per se_, but she didn't want him making decisions for her out of hand. He had done enough of that already to last her a lifetime.

He looked down at her with that flat, unreadable look in his gold eyes, and somehow it was even harder to hold her ground then usual. "Well… er…" her wandering eye landed on the spilled rice and her stomach chose that moment to remind her that dinner was a long time ago. "I don't suppose discussing this over breakfast is out of the question?"


	13. Chapter 13

AN: First, I would like to thank everyone fore their immense patience with me. These last two chapters have not been easy, most everything I tried over the past two years came out stilted, stiff, and forced, but I refused to post anything less then the quality of the work that had come before. In the past few months these last scenes have gradually come together and I hope that you all enjoy this conclusion to _Hidden in Plain Sight_.

**_Chapter Thirteen_**

Kagome stalked through the early morning halls of the den looking for Sesshoumaru. It had been several months since her last unfortunate encounter with the baku and there hadn't been even a hint of a rumor of the dream demon since. This little fact made her increasingly nervous. She knew it was planning something, something terrible; she could feel it in the depths of her soul and crawling across her skin. Nothing concrete that they could act on, of course, just an overwhelming looming feeling that was turning her into a nervous wreck. It didn't help that Sesshoumaru refused to talk about it. He would protect her and that was that.

His reticence had brought her to her current predicament. She tried it Keigo's way, being the patient little submissive until Sesshoumaru deigned to allow her to speak her piece, it hadn't worked. Now she was ready to toss all her hard earned lessons of inu propriety out the window and pin his ears back. _There he is,_ she grinned viciously, her lips peeling back to flash a sharp set of fangs.

He was alone in one of the guard's dojo. It was a plain but solidly constructed building that had seen better days, probably seen better centuries. The thick poles that supported the ceiling were heavily scarred by errant blades and claws, the bamboo floor was worn thin by the regular tread of pacing feet, and occasionally marred with permanently stained spots of blood, acid, and whatever else inu youkai may decide to throw around during a fight. The slatted wooden screens that normally formed the walls had been pushed aside to allow the faint spring breeze to flow freely through the room filling it with the delicate scent of early blooms. Sesshoumaru stood in the center of the building with a weighted wooden practice sword, and moved through a slow kata. She paused; her irritation at him briefly checked by her admiration of sleekly toned muscles and tightly controlled movements. As soon as she stepped onto the dojo floor he turned to face her and lowered the bokken.

"Kagome," he greeted her neutrally. His immediate acknowledgement of her threw her briefly, she was expecting to fight him tooth and claw to get that much.

"Sesshoumaru, we need to talk," she said carefully measuring his reaction. While she liked to think that she was becoming proficient at reading his moods, he still didn't make it easy for her. "I think we need to consider Keigo's plan...," he looked at her flatly, unmoved and she found herself giving a little ground to that unwavering gaze. "We don't _actually_ have to go through with it, but we need to consider something. The baku isn't going to just go away because we stuck our heads in the sand and ignored it."

"This Sesshoumaru does not ignore a threat, no matter the source." He said carefully after a long pause.

"But…"

"Placing the Taigen into deliberate danger is an unacceptable risk for the clan."

"That's bull," she snapped, stamping one bare foot on the wooden floor. "If I was a full-blood inu you wouldn't even think twice about it. I'm not stupid, I've heard the stories, the Ryouchi no Taigen is as much a warrior as the Inu no Taishou."

He shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but she rolled right over him.

"I may not have all of the strength and speed, but I am not an invalid and I have more then enough powers to…," her tirade was cut off with a small yelp when Sesshoumaru closed the distance between them and pulled her into a rough embrace, nipping sharply at her ear.

"That was before," he said, voice low and harsh. "Before the Taishou had turned on the clan and had to be put down. Now, I cannot afford even a hint that history might repeat itself. If it is thought that this Sesshoumaru placed his new Taigen into deliberate danger the clan would be torn apart with the distrust. Loosing the remaining females will sign the clan's death warrant, even if we are able to retain the half-bloods that have recently joined us there is no guarantee of future strength."

She took a breath to speak but all that came out was a soft "oh." She nuzzled gently at the bare curve of his chest, the only bit she could reach to convey wordless comfort. "I'm sorry I didn't think…" He accepted her apology easily, quickly covering her mouth with his own. When a trail of kisses along her jaw line and throat came to linger at the juncture between her neck and shoulder she pulled back slightly, knowing where it would end if she didn't. "But I'm still worried about the baku, I keep getting this… feeling that something is going to happen, and soon."

He paused and blinked at her in surprise. "Premonitions?"

"Well… no, not exactly. Just," she shifted uncomfortably. "Just worried."

He rubbed his cheek against her hair, the reassuring gesture immediately relaxing her. As she melted against him, he spoke softly. "Keigo, myself and key members of the counsel have been working on the best defense for the clan against the baku. Some steps have been taken but nothing to trouble you with."

"Trouble me, please," she exclaimed. "I hate being left in the dark."

"We did not wish to cause you worry."

"Sesshoumaru," she pulled back and looked up into his golden eyes trying to convey her seriousness. Belatedly remembering that looking into the eyes was a challenge and not the entreaty she wanted, she snapped her eyes shut and leaned up on her tiptoes to nuzzle gently behind his ear. "I worry. It's unavoidable. I am going to worry about something, just please let _me_ decide what is worth worrying over."

He snorted softly. "This Sesshoumaru may consider it." _Meaning he won't,_ she scowled at him and was about to press the issue when a familiar twinge in her gut interrupted her.

"We will discuss this later," she tells him, quickly disentangling herself from him and hurrying away with as much decorum as she could manage. She didn't make it very far, but at least she made it safely outside to a small alcove garden before emptying her stomach of the light breakfast she had eaten that morning. _Yet another thing I have to talk to Sesshoumaru about,_ she mused to herself as she leaned against a convenient wall, remaining doubled over even though the sickness had passed it left her weak and wrung out. After his fit when Ryoushi just mentioned the possibility of a child with her she had been unsure how he would react when faced with the reality of that situation and was hesitant to share the 'good' news. _Of course with my luck he can smell the changes in hormones or some such and already knows, _she glowered at the ground if that was the case, and he hadn't said anything, leaving her to agonize over how to break it to him for weeks on end… if that was the case she was going to smack him, good and hard, with every ounce of strength she possessed.

"Taigen, are you well?" a lilting feminine voice asked, interrupting her violent fantasies. Kagome grimaced and looked up to find Dokoubashii, the fox-dog female that had tried to challenge her. Ever since that failed attempt she has been continuously ingratiating herself to Kagome, behavior that Kagome found to be disingenuous, especially considering she was moderately certain that the centerfold look-a-like was hitting on Sesshoumaru at every available opportunity. Not that he had said anything to her about it; he was distressingly close-lipped about important topics. Her bad mood now thoroughly entrenched; she turned her scowl on Dokoubashii.

"Thank you I'm fine," Kagome said. She stood up straight and found her self feeling a little woozy. "I think I just need to rest a bit," she added covering her eyes with one hand.

"Here let me help you." Dokoubashii oozed false sincerity. She slid one arm around Kagome's waist and, while supporting most of her weight, guided her through the garden.

"No, that's alright," Kagome said, batting uselessly at Dokoubashii's hands, but she was still too weak in comparison to the full-blooded demon to actually do anything substantial. "Perhaps, if you could get Sakura for me?"

"Oh no, Taigen, I insist," Kagome wondered if she should call for Sesshoumaru, then she weighed that against how stupid she would feel trying to explain that she was scared by the woman being helpful. _Although considering the demon in question he'll probably understand._

"Where are we?" she asked muzzily, realizing that it was taking too long to get back to the female housing; it was one of the den's central buildings, and it shouldn't take this long to get there. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus, and this simple realization was late in coming.

"Do you like my perfume?" Dokoubashii asked her voice soft and low. "It's made special… for you."

The moments that it took for Kagome to process that statement and even begin to draw breath were too many, too long. She was slammed into the side of nearby building with supernatural force. With the air having been forcefully expelled from her lungs, it was all she could do to simply lay in a collapsed heap and gasp short, shaky breaths that never seemed to fill her lungs.

"Did you think I wouldn't know?" Dokoubashii knelt down beside Kagome and drew her head up by her hair. "My evening light?"

Kagome started at the strange multi-tonal voice that overtook Dokoubashii's naturally warm, low speaking voice. As she stared at the other demoness before her she could see a faint shadowy form outlining Dokoubashii's generous curves. "It's you, the baku," she gasped in surprise, as the sense of looming danger that had been plaguing her for weeks clamored in her head pushing out all coherent thought and Dokoubashii's lips curved up into a smile. Kagome's scattered thoughts settled on one small thing that had been irritating her for months. "Don't call me that."

"Why?" Dokoubashii/the baku asked. "Is it not your name? Higurashi, higure, the sunset, the evening. Shall I not call you what you are?"

"But not like that," she whined plaintively. The baku smiled, an arrogant stretch of the mouth that thinned Dokoubashii's plump lips unpleasantly. It opened her mouth to speak, but then the expression drained from her face and it backhanded Kagome across the face. If she were still fully human the force of the blow would have snapped her neck. As it was the unavoidable blow rocked her back but she was able to turn and glare at her tormentor.

"Sneaky little bitch," it snarled. "They really are turning you into a dog."

Kagome glared defiantly up at the possessed youkai. She wished that she hadn't left the Tetsusaiga safe in her room. It wouldn't help her, but having it close made her feel better and less uncertain. She may still loose on a pure physical battle, and she knew it; but she also knew that when it came down to pure raw power not even Sesshoumaru himself was anywhere near her. Kagome let her mind drift downwards into the earth. Her power may be hedged around with wards but once she found an outlet to funnel them through she could do anything. She had to believe that or she was as good as dead.

_Ah, there!_ She gasped as her mind brushed across the delicate, but deeply entrenched roots of the weeds that the gardeners keep pulling but can never fully get rid of. She poured her power into the little tendrils and they erupted with life, and within a few moments the courtyard erupted with thorny brambles that tangled themselves around Dokoubashii. Kagome smirked and leaned against the wall she had been slammed into just moments before.

"Well, it ain't exactly a cherry tree blooming in mid-winter, but it is eminently more practical." She drawled, inordinately pleased with herself; she figured out one of the Taigen's "mysteries." _Amazing, really, what blind panic and sheer desperation will get you, _she thought to herself as she examined the strange plant. It was somewhat demonic in nature, most of the plants in the den were having been exposed to varying levels of youki for centuries, but when she poured her power into the plants more then just youki had leaked through. The thorns were tipped with the slight pearlescent glow of holy light.

"Kagome." "Taigen!" Voices called out to her. She looked up to see Sesshoumaru and Keigo,the last was carrying the Testusaiga, perched on the peak of a nearby building. It was then that she realized that her eruption of weeds had not only bound up Dokoubashii but walled her in as well though she remained untouched by the wickedly sharp thorns. _Okay, mental note; need to work on that._

"Hey, guys," she called out and waved her arm enthusiastically. "I'm kind of stuck."

She could hear Sesshoumaru's snort of amused derision from her place on the ground. Well, maybe not exactly, even her new enhanced hearing wasn't quite that good, but she knew it was there.

Kagome reflexively ducked down as an explosion of movement erupted from the mass of vegetation behind her, accompanied by Dokoubashii screaming in fear and agony. Kagome huddled on the ground letting the wall of thorny vines hide her, but the screaming just continued on and on until her curiosity finally got the better of her fear and good sense. She hesitantly peeked over her green barricade. Doukobashii was thrashing wildly as the vines drew tighter and tighter, thorns biting deeply into her skin. Blood ran freely, and something else, a dark oily smoke also leaked from her wounds.

"How do you manage to get yourself into these messes, Taigen?" Keigo asked from directly above Kagome. She looked up to find him perched directly above her at the edge of the roof with one hand held out help her up.

"Not funny," she said with a low growl but let him pull her up anyway. Once she gained safe footing on the roof she looked out over the mass of thorns filling the courtyard. Dokoubashii must have been dead; she had stopped screaming and stopped struggling. "What the hell?" Kagome muttered under her breath and squinted at the strange smoke that was congealing above the body.

"Here," Keigo said, holding out the Testusaiga. But Kagome was too focused on the strange smoke. She fluttered one hand at him to quiet him as she concentrated.

"Sesshoumaru," she shrieked in panic as the black cloud suddenly shot forward directly at him. "The baku, look out!"

He reacted just in time, drawing the Tensaiga it formed a golden barrier that rebuffed the dream demon, but the strikes slid through the dark smoke like air. The baku's attempted possession rebuffed it pulled back away from Sesshoumaru and drifted upwards. She could see blood red eyes deep inside the smoke surveying the courtyard, and coming to rest on her and Keigo. Kagome flinched back falling against Keigo, as the demon came hurtling at them. His arms came around her protectively and the sheathed Tetsusaiga was held up defensively. But to no avail, the dark cloud engulfed them and she could feel the baku's powers probing her mind, seeking entry. And then, it was gone.

Blinking in the sudden sunlight, she found herself staring up at Keigo, his expression completely flat and unreadable, unusual for the more gregarious inu. "Keigo?" she asked hesitantly.

His lips twisted into an alien smirk, his voice when he spoke was that strange two-tone sound that echoes in Dokoubashii's voice. "Do not worry my evening light. I shall protect you from these dogs."

"You, what?" she stared at him blankly as he drew the Tetsusaiga, the fang transforming into a wide, wickedly curved blade as it left the narrow sheath. "No, no, I don't want it." She yelled and pushed away from him. He stood unmoving on the roof tiles. It was Kagome instead who fell back, tumbling off of the roof into the thorns below. When she screamed it wasn't because of the thorns slicing through cloth and skin with equal ease, but at the sight of Keigo and Sesshoumaru hurtling at each other and clashing above her.

The holy powers, her holy powers that had been absorbed by the thorns now turned against her as they sliced through the sutras written along her arms, legs, and back. She could feel the inner turmoil of her powers within her surging once again, fighting for release and fighting each other, as the bonds began to weaken. Screaming, now in frustration, Kagome lashed out at the vines entangling her, her finger curled into claws. She froze in shock as the thick plants disintegrated under her touch. Looking down in amazement at her hands she found that her delicate claws, elegantly manicured by Sakura, were outlined with holy light. The bindings had weakened enough to let her exercise a little of her natural powers allowing them to form around the only weapons she had. She looked up at the two combatants with grim determination; she was not going to sit this one out.

When they parted, she was ready. She leapt for the baku, firmly putting aside thoughts of what her friend's body was going to go through with her plan. Her attack was completely unexpected and she managed to successfully latch onto his sword arm, claws digging in deep.

"Let go," He growled at her. He tried to shake her off, tried hitting her with his other hand, but she held on tenaciously through the blows. Her claws dug deeper, one at his hand the other at his elbow and she could smell the acrid scent of burning flesh. He gripped her wrist with his free hand and pried her hand away from the Tetsusaiga.

"You first," she snarled back pouring her powers into his elbow, tearing away skin and muscle and laying his arm open to the bone. His hand suddenly useless the fang plummeted to the ground far below them.

"Sesshoumaru, get the Tetsusaiga," she shouted at him, but he remained unmoving, watching them for some opening he could take advantage of. She growled in frustration, _of all the moments to be honorable and… and nit-picky._ "Sesshoumaru! _Take_ the Tetsusaiga."

That did it. A streak of white flashed downwards. She shrieked in surprise as she found herself suddenly yanked around, the baku pulling her against him so that her back was pressed against Keigo's chest and she was held up as a shield against Sesshoumaru. She smiled grimly,_ hadn't he learned any better the first time they did this?_

Sesshoumaru now stood before them with both swords, strangely enough the forms of the blades changed once again, balancing out until it was nearly impossible to tell them apart. They truly were twin blades. He struck, swift as lightning with one blade, the Tensaiga by its feel, cutting from the joint of the neck down and across their torsos. Kagome could hear the baku, it's voice alone screaming in pain and rage. As she fell, tangled together with Keigo to the ground below, she could see up above her Sesshoumaru striking the baku with both fangs, the oily cloud and small wiry body hidden underneath it disintegrating. The baku was a creature that walk the line between two worlds, so of course it would take weapons from both to defeat it. Then she hit the ground and stars exploded across her vision.

As she lay dazed on the ground she gradually became aware of a new development; when Sesshoumaru struck her with the Tensaiga the blade had sliced agross her heart and the holy edge of the blade cut through the key spell, unraveling it. Kagome struggled to sit up and pull the neckline of the kimono down, heedless of exposing her breasts or of anything else at all. She watched in horror as the red lines beaded and ran off of her skin like water. Kagome heard a shocked gasp and looked up to see Keigo staring at her in surprise and fear.

"Ancestors… you're a miko," he breathed. That was when she realized that her holy powers were rushing forward, expanding, forcing out the youki, and everyone in the den could feel it. Both of them were too stunned to move; it was Sesshoumaru who broke the frozen tableau.

"Keigo, bring her to the Hall," He ordered. "I shall clear the way." And then, he was gone, but neither of them made a move for several long moments.

"Um…," Kagome spoke hesitantly. "I'm sorry about your arm."

He blinked at her and slowly, painfully slowly, looked down at his destroyed right arm. She couldn't help but cringe slightly as he asked softly, "what happened?"

"The baku possessed you," she told him "do you remember anything?"

"A little bit," he spoke softly with a troubled frown. His head snapped up suddenly and his nostrils flared. She followed his lead, but her abilities were quickly diminishing and she could only barely catch the distant whiff of other inu youkai. "We must get you out of here quickly," He said, but he seemed hesitant to approach her, torn between his duty and ingrained fears.

"It's okay," she said, hauling herself shakily to her feet. "I can make.." she was cut off by a sharp stabbing pain that drove her to her knees. Something was ripping from her chest down to her belly, reducing her to a quivering, whimpering heap on the ground.

And Keigo was there, lifting her up and making a strange sound, a soft soothing whine. Looking up into his golden eyes, she could see that he was still afraid but that he was worried too. "Let's get you to Sesshoumaru," he said.

The brief trip to the Hall was made even quicker when traveled at top speed by an inu youkai. Almost before she knew what was happening she found herself being set down onto a futon in one of the modified penitents' cells. Sesshoumaru was barring the door and she could feel the wards snapping into place.

Keigo turned to Sesshoumaru, "She's a miko!"

Sesshoumaru gave him _that_ look; the one that said 'you are a flaming moron.' Kagome grinned despite the pain. Her gritting teeth making the expression seem more of a grimace than anything else.

"And you knew… are you mad?" Keigo yelled.

Kagome gasped as she felt a flood of wetness between her legs. "Um… guys…" she called out weakly.

"This Sesshoumaru has always acted for the good of the clan," He said stiffly, clearly uncomfortable and uncertain but also unwilling to budge from that point.

Keigo paced in an anxious circle before coming to rest once again before Sesshoumaru, this time in a more subservient, rather then challenging, stance. "If this gets out… if this gets out we are destroyed."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "We need…"

Kagome stared in horror as the bright red stain spreading across her legs, waves of pain once again ripping across her abdomen. "Sess…" She gasped, panting with the pain unable to catch her breath, and was relieved when he turned towards her. "Help…me…"

She blacked out as a scream was ripped from her throat. But not before she felt Sesshoumaru's strong arms come around her, holding her up. Even through whatever was wrong with her he would see that she was safe. Her last thought was surprise at how fundamental that belief now was.

... ... ...

When Kagome awoke the first thing she was aware of was of how well she felt. For the first time in her life, or at least for the first time in recent memory she was not fighting to maintain that constant inner balance in the battle between dueling forces in her soul. Both powers were still there, and just as strong as before, but instead of the constant strife they existed peacefully in perfect harmonious balance

The second thing she became aware of was that she was clean. She remembered being a torn, bloody mess. But now she was dressed in a clean pale blue yukata and was covered in a lightly woven, and clean, blanket. Even though she was clean, the rest of the room was not. It was a down right disaster area. The stone altar had been cracked down the middle and the halves of it pushed aside, one even fallen on its end. The walls were deeply scarred with burn marks and acid etchings splashed liberally across them, though the binding spells remained untouched and strong. She could smell the faint traces of blood and Sesshoumaru's poison on the air. As for the demon in question, Sesshoumaru was sitting calmly in the center of the room. He was looking a little worse for wear, with a fading black eye, and deep claw marks across his chest and shoulders, and raking down his arms. They were healing but still livid. He wore only his hakama, his haori and under-kimono had been shredded and mostly removed. The only evidence that he had worn them at all was tattered strips that hung at his hips.

"What happened to you?" she asked, her voice coming out as a harsh croak.

Sesshoumaru cracked one golden eye open, not the bruised one, and gave her a level look. "Keigo and I had to settle a disagreement."

Kagome's jaw dropped open; she couldn't imagine Keigo ever going so far as to actually challenge Sesshoumaru on any matter, then she remembered their argument before she had passed out, though her memory was mostly still fuzzy. Worried, she asked, "Was it about me? Where is he?"

Sesshoumaru gave a single brief nod. "He is gone."

"Oh gods," her hands flew to cover her mouth. Keigo was like Sesshoumaru's _best friend_, or at least the closest to it that he got, and he just… because of her. Tears started to spill down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Kagome," he spoke her name in that chiding, disapproving voice that she knew meant that he wanted her to stop what she was doing and stop it right now. But she couldn't. Then his hands gripped hers and pulled her up to him, his nose nudge slightly against her ear followed by a gentle scrape of a fang. "It's not what you think."

"What?" she asked, tears still in her eyes and voice. "What isn't what I think?"

He huffed in annoyance, his warm breath puffing lightly against her ear. "This Sesshoumaru… lost."

"You… but how…? What happened?"

He settled down behind her on the futon and gently pulled her into his lap. He lightly rubbed his cheek against hers, though she couldn't tell whether it was for her comfort or his, before speaking. "When you lost the pup…"

"Pup?" she asked her mind freezing and her hands clasping over her stomach. "…the baby?"

He nodded and pulled her close. "When you lost the pup, the Shikon no Tama was expelled along with it." _The Shikon? _Was that what she had felt tearing her up inside? "It had been completed. The baku had been able to collect the shards that we could not."

"Where is it?" she asked, panicked by the sudden realization that she couldn't sense it at all.

"It is gone," he answered simply. She was beginning to hate that answer; Keigo was gone, the Shikon no Tama was gone…_wait a minute_…She pulled back.

"Tell me he didn't take the Jewel?" Even as her fingers dug into his shoulders with the panic she tilted her head to the side and back, a response that was becoming more and more ingrained in her interactions with Sesshoumru.

"He didn't," Sesshoumaru pulled her back and ran his tongue along the side of her neck to her ear, his voice muffled by the skin of her throat. "I told Keigo the truth of what had happened… he was less then pleased with this Sesshoumaru," he told her, sounding slightly disgruntled and a little ashamed. It took her a moment to realize that he was trying to apologize for the way he had treated her, but was still clearly uncomfortable with the process. She turned her head and kissed his jaw line; apology accepted. He had continued speaking through her sudden epiphany, so she settled in to listen to the rest of the story. "We agreed that you had to be restored to your bound status somehow, the Jewel seeming to be the only answer at hand. Keigo felt that this Sesshoumaru would taint the Jewel. I disagreed. He pressed his point."

"Why would you taint the Jewel?" Kagome asked, baffled by his short statements and curt manner of speaking.

"Keigo felt that this Sesshoumaru had personal reasons for restoring your condition, not only for the good of our people."

"And did you?" she asked bluntly. He was uncomfortably silent so she tried another track. "Why didn't you just let him make the wish?"

"You are my responsibility, it was through my action that the spells had become undone," he explained. "It was my duty to set it aright."

"Oh," she breathed, once again surprised by the depth of his loyalty and sense of duty. "But, Keigo won the right to make the wish? Then what happened?"

"The wish was granted, but we had not considered the form it might take… to maintain the balance the Shikon no Tama required more youki so the Jewel took it, from Keigo. Both he and the Jewel are gone but you are… more then restored, you are changed." Sesshoumaru said as he gently pulled up the long sleeves of her yukata to show clear, unmarked arms and hands tipped with sharp claws.

She curled her fingers, gave a little push and a film of gentle holy light edged her claws. Hesitantly she explored her features. She had dainty little fangs but no puppy ears, instead her ears were tipped with the slightest of points. "What am I?" she asked.

"What you always were: only Kagome. Nothing more, nothing less," he answered her.

She smiled up at him, her smile faltered as another thought stole it away. "Sesshoumaru, about the baby…"

"The pup?" he asked, still apparently uncertain of human words.

"Er… yes. What…?" she started to ask but was uncertain about what to say or how to ask it.

He held her close and gently combed his finger through her hair. "The fall caused a miscarriage. I am sorry Kagome."

"Are you?" she asked her voice sounding distant and cold, and entirely unlike her. Sesshoumaru froze with his fingers still buried in her hair. "You were certainly adamant enough against the idea last spring."

He tried pull her in close but she pulled away, not comfortable with accepting such an intimate touch until he had answered her question, and depending on the answer maybe even not then. Fortunately, he did not press the issue but leaned back and weighed his words carefully. "I was a fool," he enunciated the words clearly, careful not to distance himself as he often did. "I was more concerned with the opinion of others, not just the clan but…" he shook his head. "They don't matter. I had forgotten that clan is at its core a family; a mated pair and their offspring. When that creature threatened you here, in my den, in my home, I was reminded of that simple fact."

He lifted her chin up and held her face in his hands so that she was forced to look into his eyes, and his claws lightly pricked the delicate skin at her temples. She was confused for a moment before realizing that he was trying to communicate with her in ways she would understand, in human ways. And looking someone in the eyes to indicate truth was very human. "You are important to me, our… children are important to me. I grieve for the one that was lost. Whatever else you have been, are, or will be you will always be my mate and if the clan has any problems with that, I will hunt them all down one by one."

Breathless with shock, she pulled his hand away from her face and held them clasped between her own. "I believe you." She leaned in licked him lightly on the cheek. He turned his head and kissed her fiercely, almost desperately. "I love you," she whispered as he held her close, and closed her eyes as weight of the words she had carried for so long finally left her.

His voice was soft, barely a sigh, but all the more treasured. "I love you, too."


End file.
